Anti-viral activity of Cissus repanda Vahl. plant extract on herpes simplex virus

Abstract

The effect of Cissus repanda Vahl. plant extract on herpes simplex virus type 1 and type 2 was investigated in this study. The cytotoxicity of dichloromethane and methanol extracts of C. repanda on GMK cells was determined by MTT assay. Non toxic concentrations were used in the study. Methanol extracts of C. repanda showed higher anti-HSV efficacy than dichloromethane extracts, by plaque reduction assay, although, HSV particles were directly inhibited by both extracts. Inhibition of HSV attachment, penetration and replication were also observed, after treatment of HSV with C. repanda extracts. The most affected stage was the attachment period. Moreover, C. repanda extracts inhibited replication of HSV-2 more than HSV-1. © 2008 Academic Journals Inc.