Potential of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) as an Additional Therapy for Dengue Fever

Abstract

Dengue fever has been a global health problem for over five decades, especially in tropical and subtropical countries. It is caused by a viral infection that spreads from mosquito to human. Natural sources have the potency to be an alternative to dengue fever therapy, such as guava (Psidium guajava L.). Its leaves contain several compounds and have several bioactivities. This research aims to explore the potency of guava as an additional therapy for dengue fever patients.  The method used a narrative literature review that searches literature in primary data such as national or international journals with the database PubMed or Scopus. The results reported that quercetin is one of the ingredients found in guava that affects dengue fever. It suppresses intracellular replication of dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) and inhibits ATPase in DENV-4. In addition, quercetin also stimulates stem cell factors in bone marrow stromal cells to produce thrombopoietin which functions to regulate platelet production in the spinal cord. So, guava has the potential and effectiveness to be used as an alternative therapy for dengue fever.