Antiherpevirus activity of Artemisia arborescens essential oil and inhibition of lateral diffusion in Vero cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>New prophylactic and therapeutic tools are needed for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infections. Several essential oils have shown to possess antiviral activity <it>in vitro </it>against a wide spectrum of viruses.</p> <p>Aim</p> <p>The present study was assess to investigate the activities of the essential oil obtained from leaves of <it>Artemisia arborescens </it>against HSV-1 and HSV-2</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The cytotoxicity in Vero cells was evaluated by the MTT reduction method. The IC₅₀values were determined by plaque reduction assay. In order to characterize the mechanism of action, yield reduction assay, inhibition of plaque development assay, attachment assay, penetration assay and post-attachment virus neutralization assay were also performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The IC₅₀values, determined by plaque reduction assay, were 2.4 and 4.1 μg/ml for HSV-1 and HSV-2, respectively, while the cytotoxicity assay against Vero cells, as determined by the MTT reduction method, showed a CC₅₀value of 132 μg/ml, indicating a CC₅₀/IC₅₀ratio of 55 for HSV-1 and 32.2 for HSV-2. The antiviral activity of <it>A. arborescens </it>essential oil is principally due to direct virucidal effects. A poor activity determined by yield reduction assay was observed against HSV-1 at higher concentrations when added to cultures of infected cells. No inhibition was observed by attachment assay, penetration assay and post-attachment virus neutralization assay. Furthermore, inhibition of plaque development assay showed that <it>A. arborescens </it>essential oil inhibits the lateral diffusion of both HSV-1 and HSV-2.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrates the antiviral activity of the essential oil <it>in toto </it>obtained from <it>A. arborescens </it>against HSV-1 and HSV-2. The mode of action of the essential oil as antiherpesvirus agent seems to be particularly interesting in consideration of its ability to inactivate the virus and to inhibit the cell-to-cell virus diffusion.</p

Synthesis, biological evaluation, and SAR study of novel pyrazole analogues as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Part 2. Synthesis of rigid pyrazolones

Two series of novel rigid pyrazolone derivatives were synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the causative agent of tuberculosis. Two of these compounds showed a high activity against MTB (MIC = 4 μg/mL). The newly synthesized pyrazolones were also computationally investigated to analyze if their properties fit the pharmacophoric model for antitubercular compounds previously built by us. The results are in agreement with those reported by us previously for a class of pyrazole analogues and confirm the fundamental role of the p-chlorophenyl moiety at C4 in the antimycobacterial activity

Direct inactivation of different concentrations of essential oil on HSV-1 at various times as determined by plaque reduction assay

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Antiherpevirus activity of essential oil and inhibition of lateral diffusion in Vero cells"</p><p>http://www.ann-clinmicrob.com/content/6/1/10</p><p>Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials 2007;6():10-10.</p><p>Published online 26 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2099429.</p><p></p> HSV-1 was mixed with essential oil and incubated for 15 min. (black circle), 1 h (black square) or 2 h (white circle) at 37°C. ICof 2.4 μg/ml as determined after 1 h pre-incubation at 37°C, shifted to 1.14 μg/ml and 6.9 μg/ml when HSV-1 was pre-incubated for 2 h or 15 min, respectively. Results are presented as mean percentage of control of three separate experiments

Neutralizing activity of essential oil against HSV-1 as determined by plaque reduction assay after 1 h pre-incubation at 37°C (black square) or 4°C (black circle)

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Antiherpevirus activity of essential oil and inhibition of lateral diffusion in Vero cells"</p><p>http://www.ann-clinmicrob.com/content/6/1/10</p><p>Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials 2007;6():10-10.</p><p>Published online 26 Sep 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC2099429.</p><p></p> ICof 2.4 μg/ml as determined after 1 h pre-incubation at 37°C, increased to 19.4 μg/ml when HSV-1 was pre-incubated for the same time at 4°C. Results are presented as mean percentage of control of four separate experiments

Which patients discontinue? Issues on Levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel treatment: Italian multicentre survey of 905 patients with long-term follow-up

Objectives To report the results of a national survey aimed at quantifying the current level of diffusion of Levodopa/carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) in Italy. Methods Sixty Parkinson's Disease (PD) specialists in Italy were invited to complete a survey covering issues on clinical and practical aspects of LCIG therapy. Results Clinical features of 905 patients were collected retrospectively. The majority of centres reported the use of a multidisciplinary team, biochemistry testing, neurophysiological and neuropsychological tests before and after treatment, in addition to caregivers’ training and patient's follow as outpatients. Most centres (60%) used internal guidelines for patient selection. The overall rate of adverse events was 55.1%. Weight loss, chronic polyneuropathy and stoma infection were the most frequently reported. 40% of centres used replacement therapy with Vitamin B12 and Folic acid from the start of LCIG and continued this for the duration of treatment. The rate of discontinuation was of 25.7% overall, with 9.5% of cases occurring in the first year. The main causes of withdrawal were device-related complications, disease progression (comorbidity, severe dementia) and caregiver and/or patient dissatisfaction. Conclusions In Italy LCIG infusion is managed in a uniform manner at a clinical, practical and organizational level even though the selection criteria are not standardized through the country. The high percentage of patients remaining on treatment in the short- and long-term follow-up confirms effectiveness of treatment, careful follow-up, and appropriate patient and caregivers training