Assessment of Anti-Influenza Activity and Hemagglutination Inhibition of Plumbago indica and Allium sativum Extracts

BACKGROUND: Human influenza is a seasonal disease associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Anti-flu ayurvedic/herbal medicines have played a significant role in fighting the virus pandemic. Plumbagin and allicin are commonly used ingredients in many therapeutic remedies, either alone or in conjunction with other natural substances. Evidence suggests that these extracts are associated with a variety of pharmacological activities. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate anti-influenza activity from Plumbago indica and Allium sativum extract against Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Different extraction procedures were used to isolate the active ingredient in the solvent system, and quantitative HPLTC confirms the presence of plumbagin and allicin. The cytotoxicity was carried out on Madin-Darby Canine kidney cells, and the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC(50)) values were below 20 mg/mL for both plant extracts. To assess the anti-influenza activity, two assays were employed, simultaneous and posttreatment assay. RESULTS: A. sativum methanolic and ethanolic extracts showed only 14% reduction in hemagglutination in contrast to P. indica which exhibited 100% reduction in both simultaneous and posttreatment assay at concentrations of 10 mg/mL, 5 mg/mL, and 1 mg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that P. indica extracts are good candidates for anti-influenza therapy and should be used in medical treatment after further research. SUMMARY: The search for natural antiviral compounds from plants is a promising approach in the development of new therapeutic agents. In the past century, several scientific efforts have been directed toward identifying phytochemicals capable of inhibiting virus. Knowledge of ethnopharmacology can lead to new bioactive plant compounds suitable for drug discovery and development. Macromolecular docking studies provides most detailed possible view of drug-receptor interaction where the structure of drug is designed based on its fit to three dimensional structures of receptor site rather than by analogy to other active structures or random leads. Our previous studies indicate that Allicin sand Plumbagin could be used as the potent multi drug targets against the Neuraminidase, Hemagglutinin and M2 protein channel of influenza A (H1N1) pdm09. This in-vittro study has shown that P. indica L. and A. sativum extracts can inhibit influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus by inhibiting viral nucleoprotein synthesis and polymerase activity.