This report explains the employing of a combination test of traditional cell culture with a quantitative real-time PCR for assessment of the antiviral effect of zinc sulfate (ZnSO4) on herpes simplex virus (HSV)-infected Vero cells. Our evidence showed that the treatment with 0.3 mM ZnSO4 strongly inhibited the replication of virus progeny (MOI 0.001) at least 68-fold less. On the other hand, the IC50 demonstrated that the highest activity of ZnSO4 was at the 0.23 mM concentration.
Keywords: Antiviral effect; HSV; Herpes simplex virus; Zinc sulfate.