Antiviral Res. 2005 Jun;66(2-3):129-36. Epub 2005 Apr 18.
The olive leaf extract exhibits antiviral activity against viral haemorrhagic septicaemia rhabdovirus (VHSV).
Micol V, Caturla N, Pérez-Fons L, Más V, Pérez L, Estepa A.
Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular, Universidad Miguel Hernández, E-03202-Elche, Alicante, Spain.
Abstract
A commercial plant extract derived from olive tree leaf (Olea europaea) (LExt) and its major compound, oleuropein (Ole), inhibited the in vitro infectivity of the viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV), a salmonid rhabdovirus. Incubation of virus with LExt or Ole before infection reduced the viral infectivity to 10 and 30%, respectively. Furthermore, LExt drastically decreased VHSV titers and viral protein accumulation (virucidal effect) in a dose dependent manner when added to cell monolayers 36 h post-infection. On the other hand, both the LExt and Ole were able to inhibit cell-to-cell membrane fusion induced by VHSV in uninfected cells, suggesting interactions with viral envelope. Therefore, we propose that O. europaea could be used as a potential source of promising natural antivirals, which have demonstrated to lack impact on health and environment. In addition, Ole could be used to design other related antiviral agents.
PMID: 15869811 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]