Antiviral effect of gingyo-san, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on influenza A2 virus infection in mice.

Gingyo-san is a crude drug containing extracts from 7 medicinal plants and fermented soybeans in a specific ratio. It has been used clinically in China as a therapeutic agent for the common cold. In the present study, we examined the antiviral effect of this agent on influenza virus infection in mice. Gingyo-san and its components were administered orally to mice 1 day before, then 1 and 4 days after the inhalation of a mouse-adopted strain of influenza A2 (H2N2) virus. After infection with a 10 LD50 of the virus, 100% of mice treated with 10 mg/kg of the agent survived as compared with a 0% survival of control mice treated with saline. Also, the mean survival days were increased and consolidation scores were decreased in treated mice as compared with those of control mice. Two components contained in the agent, extracts from Glycyrrhizae radix and Arctii fructus, expressed antiviral activities in mice infected with influenza virus. However, in vitro growth of influenza virus in MDCK cells or viability of the virus was not affected by these extracts or Gingyo-san. From these results Gingyo-san was shown to be an antiviral agent in mice infected with a lethal amount of a mouse-adopted strain of influenza A2 virus.