In vitro antiviral effects of Peganum harmala seed extract and its total alkaloids against Influenza virus

摘要

This research was aimed to evaluate the in vitro antiviral effect and the mechanism of the effect ofudPeganum. harmala seeds extract against influenza A virus infection using Madin-Darby canine kidneyud(MDCK) cells. In this research, ethyl alcohol extract of P. harmala seeds and its total alkaloids was prepared.udThe potential antiviral activity of the extract and its total alkaloids against influenza A/Puerto Rico/ud8/34 (H1N1; PR8) virus was assessed. The mode of action of the extract to inhibit influenza replicationudwas investigated using virucidal activity, hemagglutination inhibition assay, time of addition assays, RNAudreplication, western blot analysis and RNA polymerase blocking assay. The crud extract of P. harmala seedudand its total alkaloids showed the best inhibitory effect against influenza A virus replication in MDCKudcells using MTT assay, TCID50 method and hemagglutination assay. Our results indicated that the extractudinhibits viral RNA replication and viral polymerase activity but did not effect on hemagglutination inhibitionudand virucidal activity. This study showed that, in vitro antiviral activity of P. harmala seed extractudagainst influenza virus is most probably associated with inhibiting viral RNA transcription. Therefore, thisudextract and its total alkaloid should be further characterized to be developed as anti-influenza A virusudagent.