Anti-Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia Virus (VHSV) Activity of 3-Methyl Catechol

摘要

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) is a fish pathogen responsible for causing enormous economic loss to the aquaculture industry not only in Korea but worldwide. Thus, it is necessary to identify natural compounds that can be used to control the spread of VHSV. In this study, the anti-VHSV activities of five catechol derivatives, i.e., catechol, pyrogallol, 3-methyl catechol, veratrole, and 3-methyl veratrole-extracted from green tea-were assessed. The antiviral activities of these derivativeswere found to be dependent on their structure, i.e., the hydroxyl or methoxyl group and their substituent groups-on the benzene ring. Catechol, pyrogallol, and 3-methyl catechol exhibited relatively high 2,2-diphenyl-l-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities than veratrole, and 3-methyl veratrole. Moreover, 3-methyl catechol harboring a methyl substituent group increased the viability of the virus-infected cells and resulted in a 2.86 log reduction in the gene copies of VHSV N (per mL) in real-time PCR analysis. In conclusion, the catechol derivatives harboring hydroxyl groups in their benzene ring exhibited higher antioxidant activities than those harboring the methoxyl groups. However, catechol derivatives with a methyl group at the 3'-position of the benzene ring exhibited higher antiviral activity than those harboring a hydroxyl group. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the relationship between the structure and the anti-VHSV activity of catechol derivatives.