Research Laboratory Toxicology-Environmental Microbiology and Health (LR17ES06), Faculty of Sciences of Sfax, P.O. Box 1171, Sfax 3000, Tunisia.
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Science, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
Viruses. 2022 Nov 26;14(12):2639. doi: 10.3390/v14122639.
is a rich source of bioactive compounds which exhibit various biological effects. In this study, pomegranate peel and leaf ethanolic crude extracts (PPE and PLE, respectively) were phytochemically characterized and screened for antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiviral activity. LC-PDA-ESI-MS analysis led to the identification of different compounds, including ellagitannins, flavonoids and phenolic acids. The low IC values, obtained by DPPH and FRAP assays, showed a noticeable antioxidant effect of PPE and PLE comparable to the reference standards. Both crude extracts and their main compounds (gallic acid, ellagic acid and punicalagin) were not toxic on Vero cells and exhibited a remarkable inhibitory effect on herpes simplex type 1 (HSV-1) viral plaques formation. Specifically, PPE inhibited HSV-1 adsorption to the cell surface more than PLE. Indeed, the viral DNA accumulation, the transcription of viral genes and the expression of viral proteins were significantly affected by PPE treatment. Amongst the compounds, punicalagin, which is abundant in PPE crude extract, inhibited HSV-1 replication, reducing viral DNA and transcripts accumulation, as well as proteins of all three phases of the viral replication cascade. In contrast, no antibacterial activity was detected. In conclusion, our findings indicate that peel and leaf extracts, especially punicalagin, could be a promising therapeutic candidate against HSV-1.
石榴皮和叶的乙醇粗提取物（PPE 和 PLE）是生物活性化合物的丰富来源，具有多种生物学作用。在这项研究中，对石榴皮和叶的乙醇粗提取物（PPE 和 PLE）进行了植物化学特性分析，并筛选了其抗氧化、抗菌和抗病毒活性。LC-PDA-ESI-MS 分析鉴定了不同的化合物，包括鞣花单宁、类黄酮和酚酸。DPPH 和 FRAP 测定得出的低 IC 值表明，PPE 和 PLE 具有显著的抗氧化作用，可与对照标准品相媲美。粗提取物及其主要化合物（没食子酸、鞣花酸和安石榴甙）对 Vero 细胞均无毒性，对单纯疱疹病毒 1 （HSV-1）病毒斑的形成有显著的抑制作用。具体而言，PPE 抑制 HSV-1 吸附到细胞表面的作用强于 PLE。事实上，PPE 处理显著影响了病毒 DNA 的积累、病毒基因的转录和病毒蛋白的表达。在这些化合物中，安石榴甙是 PPE 粗提物中的主要成分，它抑制 HSV-1 的复制，减少病毒 DNA 和转录物的积累，以及病毒复制级联的所有三个阶段的蛋白。相比之下，没有检测到抗菌活性。总之，我们的研究结果表明，石榴皮和叶提取物，特别是安石榴甙，可能是治疗单纯疱疹病毒 1 的有前途的候选药物。
