Inhibitory effects of Indonesian medicinal plants on the infection of herpes simplex virus type 1.

Water and methanol extracts of 30 traditional medicinal plants, collected in Indonesia, were tested for their anti HSV-1 activity. The extracts of eight plant species showed potent activity on the plaque assay at a concentration of 100 micrograms/mL. The therapeutic efficacy of seven selected plants was demonstrated by using a mouse HSV-1 infection assay, both the methanol extracts of the fruit of Melaleuca leucadendron (Myrtaceae) and the pericarp of Nephelium lappaceum (Sapindaceae) significantly prolonged the development of skin lesions and reduced the mortality.