Introduction: The aim of the study was to examine the cytotoxicity and evaluate the antiviral and virucidal activity of methanol and methanol/H(2)O extracts from the herb of Peucedanum salinum. Plants belonging to the genus Peucedanum (Apiaceae family) have been used in traditional medicine for a long time.
Material and methods: The examination of the cytotoxicity of the extracts in the concentrations of 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 mg/ml was carried out on the cell culture line HEK-293. Cytotoxicity of the examined extracts was measured by the colorimetric MTT (tetrazolium) method. After determination of the highest non-toxic concentration of examined extracts, antiviral and virucidal activity against adenovirus type 5 (Adenoviridae) was established.
Results: The non-toxic doses were as follows: 1 mg/ml of methanol extract and 2 mg/ml of methanol/H(2)O extract (1 : 1 v/v). Antiviral activity was observed for the methanol extract of Peucedanum salinum in concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mg/ml. The extract caused the decrease of titre of the virus by 2 log and 1.33 log, respectively. The methanol/H(2)O extract (1 : 1 v/v) decreased the titre of the virus by 1.33 log and 1.5 log in concentrations of 1 and 2 mg/ml, respectively. The examined extracts had no virucidal activity against adenovirus type 5.
Conclusions: The examined extract is a new, potentially active source of active substances possessing antiviral activity and further studies are needed.
Keywords: antiviral activity; cytotoxicity; virucidal activity.