Efficacy of traditional herb aqua extract of Teucrium stocksianum and its fractions against HSV-1 virus expression levels of genes (UL46 and US6)

Background and objectives: Recently, the anti-herpetic activities of different plant species have been investigated. This study evaluated the effects of Teucrium stocksianum aqueous extract on the HSV-1 virus-infected Vero cell.

Materials and methods: The IC₅₀ of the aqueous extract was obtained by the maceration of the plant in boiling water and has been measured with the MTT method, also the q-PCR was used to study viral gene expression reduction.

Results: Results of the MTT test indicated that the highest percentage of metabolic activity was observed in the 75 μg/ml concentration of Teucrium stocksianum's aqueous extracts (IC₅₀=45.5μg/ml). Time intervals of 24 and 48 hours after viral infection revealed that the cell viability is reduced by the viral infection time (MOI=0.1), log 10^-3, p <0.001). Furthermore, the plant's aqueous extract concentration almost avoids cell viability reduction. Through Q-PCR results; the reduction of viral proliferation revealed that the low expression of genes UL46 and US6 were significant in the presence of different treatments utilized in the experiment.

Conclusion: T. stocksianum, has an anti-viral property and may be considered as a remedy for anti-HSV-1 agents.