The antioxidant and anti-herpes simplex viruses activity of Morus alba leaves extract

As viral resistance to available chemical drugs and virus latency duration leads to worries in herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 infections treatment,there are growing need for new anti-herpes treatments. therefore,the present study was aimed to evaluate the antiviral activity of morus alba extract against herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 (hsv-1 and 2) in vero cells model and the antioxidant property of this extract using the dpph (2,2-diphenyl-1- picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate) free-radical assay. hsv-infected vero cells and cell-free virus suspensions were treated with m. alba extract,and virus yield and infectivity were quantified by cytopathic effect (cpe) assay. the results indicated that the 50% dpph radical scavenging property of the extract was 122.4 μg/ml. in addition,the data of the present experiment showed that m. alba extract at 2 μg/ml provided 66.7% inhibition of plaque of hsv-1. in addition,m. alba extract at 4 μg/ml provided 48.6% inhibition of plaque of hsv-2. the extracts showed 100% inhibition against hsv-1 and 2 at 5,7.5 and 10 μg/ml. these properties suggested that m. alba extract may be used as a topical prophylactic and/or therapeutic agent for herpes infections. however,further studies are required to illuminate the active constituents of this extract which may be useful in developing new anti-herpes drugs. copyright 2015 zoological society of pakistan.