Abstract

Objective: To determine the in vitro antiviral activity of different extracts from Dodonaea viscosa leaves against coxackievirus B3 (CVB3) and rotavirus SA-11 (RV SA 11) infections. Methods: The cytotoxic effect of the extracts on GMK and MA 104 cells was determined by the MTT (3 -(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) reduction colorimetric assay. To evaluate the antiviral effect of the plant extracts, three different strate gies were used. Results: D. viscosa exhibited ttherapeutic index (TI) ranging from 0.3 to 25 with reduction in virus titre ranging from 0.25 to 5 log 10 TCID50/0.1 ml for CVB3 whereas TI rang ing from 0.4 to 29.2 with reduction in virus titre ranging from 0.25 to 5.25 log 10 TCID50 for RV SA11. Crude extract provided the potent inhibition of CVB3 and RV SA-11 replication by binding to a viral capsid of CVB3 and viral receptor of RV SA-11 preventing viruses entry into host cells for both viruses. Conclusions: We conclude that the crude extract of D. viscosa leaves shows the potential antiviral effect to CVB3 and RV SA-11 infections.