Department of Infectious Diseases, Virology, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2011;2011:253643. doi: 10.1093/ecam/nep187. Epub 2011 Feb 14.
Essential oil of star anise as well as phenylpropanoids and sesquiterpenes, for example, trans-anethole, eugenol, β-eudesmol, farnesol, β-caryophyllene and β-caryophyllene oxide, which are present in many essential oils, were examined for their antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in vitro. Antiviral activity was analyzed by plaque reduction assays and mode of antiviral action was determined by addition of the drugs to uninfected cells, to the virus prior to infection or to herpesvirus-infected cells. Star anise oil reduced viral infectivity by >99%, phenylpropanoids inhibited HSV infectivity by about 60-80% and sesquiterpenes suppressed herpes virus infection by 40-98%. Both, star anise essential oil and all isolated compounds exhibited anti-HSV-1 activity by direct inactivation of free virus particles in viral suspension assays. All tested drugs interacted in a dose-dependent manner with herpesvirus particles, thereby inactivating viral infectivity. Star anise oil, rich in trans-anethole, revealed a high selectivity index of 160 against HSV, whereas among the isolated compounds only β-caryophyllene displayed a high selectivity index of 140. The presence of β-caryophyllene in many essential oils might contribute strongly to their antiviral ability. These results indicate that phenylpropanoids and sesquiterpenes present in essential oils contribute to their antiviral activity against HSV.
八角茴香油以及苯丙素类化合物和倍半萜烯，例如反式茴香脑、丁香酚、β-桉叶醇、法呢醇、β-丁香烯和β-丁香烯氧化物，它们存在于许多精油中，其抗单纯疱疹病毒 1 型（HSV-1）的体外抗病毒活性已被研究。抗病毒活性通过蚀斑减少测定法进行分析，抗病毒作用模式通过将药物添加到未感染的细胞、感染前的病毒或单纯疱疹病毒感染的细胞中进行确定。八角茴香油使病毒感染力降低了>99%，苯丙素类化合物抑制 HSV 感染力约 60-80%，倍半萜烯抑制疱疹病毒感染率为 40-98%。八角茴香油和所有分离出的化合物均通过在病毒悬浮液测定中直接使游离病毒颗粒失活来表现出抗 HSV-1 活性。所有测试的药物均以剂量依赖的方式与疱疹病毒颗粒相互作用，从而使病毒感染力失活。八角茴香油富含反式茴香脑，对 HSV 的选择性指数为 160，而在分离出的化合物中，只有β-丁香烯的选择性指数为 140。倍半萜烯存在于许多精油中，这可能对其抗病毒能力有很大贡献。这些结果表明，精油中存在的苯丙素类化合物和倍半萜烯对其抗 HSV 活性有贡献。
