Research progress on antiviral constituents in traditional Chinese medicines and their mechanisms of action

• Published in: Pharmaceutical biology Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 1063 - 1076
• Main Authors: Chen, Zhi, Ye, Si-yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01.12.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Active ingredients; anti-inflammatory effect; antiviral; Antiviral activity; Antiviral agents; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Antiviral Agents - therapeutic use; Cell proliferation; China; Disease hot spots; Drug screening; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - pharmacology; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - therapeutic use; Humans; Immune system; Immunosuppressive agents; Inflammation; mechanism of action; Medical research; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Natural products; R&D; Research & development; Review; Toxicity; Traditional Chinese medicine; traditional Chinese medicines; Viral diseases; Virus Diseases - drug therapy; Viruses; China; mechanism of action; anti-inflammatory effect; Active ingredients; antiviral; traditional Chinese medicines
• ISSN: 1388-0209; 1744-5116
• DOI: 10.1080/13880209.2022.2074053

Viruses have the characteristics of rapid transmission and high mortality. At present, western medicines still lack an ideal antiviral. As natural products, many traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) have certain inhibitory effects on viruses, which has become the hotspot of medical research in recent years. The antiviral active ingredients and mechanisms of TCM against viral diseases was studied in combination with the pathogenesis of viral diseases and antiviral effects. English and Chinese literature from 1999 to 2021 was collected from databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Elsevier, Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020 (CP), and CNKI (Chinese). Traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), active ingredients, antiviral, mechanism of action, and anti-inflammatory effect were used as the key words. The antiviral activity of TCM is clarified to put forward a strategy for discovering active compounds against viruses, and provide reference for screening antivirus drugs from TCM. TCM can not only directly kill viruses and inhibit the proliferation of viruses in cells, but also prevent viruses from infecting cells and causing cytophilia. It can also regulate the human immune system, enhance human immunity, and play an indirect antiviral role. Based on the experimental study and antiviral mechanism of TCM, this paper can provide analytical evidence that supports the effectiveness of TCM in treating virus infections, as well as their mechanisms against viruses. It could be helpful to provide reference for the research and development of innovative TCMs with multiple components, multiple targets and low toxicity.