Lee Siyun, Kim Jang Hoon, Kim Chansoo, Jung Woochul, Park Jayhyun, Park Junsoo
Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University, Wonju, Republic of Korea.
Department of Herbal Crop Research, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, RDA, Eumsung, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 3;20(6):e0325371. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325371. eCollection 2025.
Coronaviruses are RNA viruses with a high mutation rate that cause many human diseases, from severe COVID-19 to mild common cold. Therefore, discovering various medicines is required to reduce the symptoms of coronavirus infection. This report showed that the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Elsholtzia ciliata (ECE) and its constituents can inhibit HCoV-OC43 (Human Coronavirus OC43) replication. HCoV-OC43, a human betacoronavirus genetically related to SARS-CoV-2, was used as a surrogate virus under BSL-2 conditions. To evaluate the antiviral properties of ECE, viral RNA levels were quantified using qRT-PCR, and viral protein expression was analyzed through Western blotting. ECE reduced coronavirus-induced plaque formation and viral RNA and protein expression in coronavirus-infected cells and conditioned media. Additionally, this was confirmed to have an inhibitory activity on virus production and improved cytopathic effects. ECE showed no cytotoxicity up to 40 µg/mL in vitro. As Elsholtzia ciliata has traditionally been consumed as a tea, oral administration could be a suitable route for further in vivo investigation. The main components of ECE were revealed by HPLC analysis and were isolated into four single compounds 1-4. Among them, luteolin-7-O-glucoside was effective in inhibiting the replication of coronavirus. Luteolin-7-O-glucoside demonstrated greater antiviral activity than ECE, with an estimated IC50 of 2 µM (around 1 µg/mL) compared to 5 µg/mL for ECE. This finding suggests that luteolin-7-O-glucoside could be a key contributor to the antiviral activity of the ECE. Finally, these results collectively suggest that Elsholtzia ciliata can be used as a potential antiviral treatment.
冠状病毒是一种具有高突变率的RNA病毒，可引发多种人类疾病，从严重的新冠肺炎到轻微的普通感冒。因此，需要研发各种药物来减轻冠状病毒感染的症状。本报告表明，细叶香薷地上部分的乙醇提取物（ECE）及其成分可抑制人冠状病毒OC43（HCoV-OC43）的复制。HCoV-OC43是一种与SARS-CoV-2有基因关联的人β冠状病毒，在生物安全二级条件下用作替代病毒。为了评估ECE的抗病毒特性，使用qRT-PCR对病毒RNA水平进行定量，并通过蛋白质免疫印迹分析病毒蛋白表达。ECE减少了冠状病毒感染细胞和条件培养基中冠状病毒诱导的空斑形成以及病毒RNA和蛋白表达。此外，证实其对病毒产生具有抑制活性，并改善了细胞病变效应。ECE在体外高达40µg/mL时无细胞毒性。由于细叶香薷传统上被用作茶饮用，口服给药可能是进一步体内研究的合适途径。通过高效液相色谱分析揭示了ECE的主要成分，并分离出四种单一化合物1-4。其中，木犀草素-7-O-葡萄糖苷可有效抑制冠状病毒的复制。木犀草素-7-O-葡萄糖苷显示出比ECE更强的抗病毒活性，估计半数抑制浓度（IC50）为2µM（约1µg/mL），而ECE为5µg/mL。这一发现表明木犀草素-7-O-葡萄糖苷可能是ECE抗病毒活性的关键贡献者。最后，这些结果共同表明细叶香薷可作为一种潜在的抗病毒治疗药物。
