Antiviral property and mechanisms of a sulphated polysaccharide from the brown alga Sargassum patens against Herpes simplex virus type 1

• Published in: Phytomedicine (Stuttgart) Vol. 13; no. 9; pp. 695 - 701
• Main Authors: Zhu, W., Chiu, L.C.M., Ooi, V.E.C., Chan, P.K.S., Ang, P.O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Elsevier GmbH 01.11.2006; Urban & Fischer Verlag
• Subjects: Acyclovir - pharmacology; Adsorption - drug effects; Antiviral activity; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - isolation & purification; Antiviral Agents - pharmacokinetics; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Resistance, Viral; Drug therapy; Health aspects; Herpes simplex; Herpes simplex virus type 1; Herpesvirus 1, Human - drug effects; Medicinal plants; Polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - isolation & purification; Polysaccharides - pharmacokinetics; Polysaccharides - pharmacology; Sargassum - chemistry; Sargassum patens; Sulphated polysaccharide; Virus adsorption; Virus Replication - drug effects; China; Sulphated polysaccharide; Herpes simplex virus type 1; Sargassum patens; Antiviral activity; Virus adsorption
• ISSN: 0944-7113; 1618-095X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2005.11.003

A sulphated polysaccharide (SP-2a) from the brown alga Sargassum patens (Kütz.) Agardh (Sargassaceae) was found to significantly inhibit the in vitro replication of both the acyclovir (ACV)-sensitive and -resistant strains of Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), in dose-dependent manners, with 50% inhibitions occurring with 1.5–5.3 μg/ml of the polysaccharide. SP-2a exhibited extracellular virucidal activity only against the ACV-sensitive strains, but not the resistant strain, at the concentration of 100 μg/ml. The strongest antiviral activities against the different strains of HSV-1 were observed when this polysaccharide was present during and after adsorption of the virus to host cells. The inhibitory effect of SP-2a on virus adsorption occurred dose-dependently in all the HSV-1 strains tested, and the adsorption of the ACV-resistant DM2.1 strain was reduced by 81.9% (relative to control) with 4 μg/ml of the polysaccharide. This study clearly demonstrated that the antiviral mode of action of SP-2a is mediated mainly by inhibiting virus attachment to host cells, and this sulphated polysaccharide might have different modes of action against the ACV-sensitive and -resistant strains of HSV-1.