Antiviral Activities of Plant Extracts
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Bioactives and Nutraceuticals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2024) | Viewed by 7750
Special Issue Editor
Interests: natural and synthesized antiviral products; mechanisms of antiviral activity; medicinal plants; phytomedicines; metabolomics; human herpes viruses; TTV; coronaviruses
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Viruses cause socially significant and life-threatening diseases in humans and animals. Modern therapy for such infections mainly involves the use of synthetic drugs. Despite their effectiveness, they have a limited range of action and exhibit negative side effects. The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-19 has shown the ineffectiveness of available chemotherapeutics. Prolonged or incorrect treatment leads to the emergence and selection of drug-resistant viral strains. On the other hand, the number of effective vaccines developed is limited compared to the number of viruses that cause dangerous effects. The above necessitates the development of new strategies for the search and application of new and effective antiviral preparations. One of the main sources of biologically active molecules with therapeutic properties in viral infections are medicinal plants. They are a source of a wide range of bioactive ingredients—alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, saponins, etc. With the help of modern methods and technologies, which accurately detect, isolate and structurally characterize biologically active secondary metabolites, the interest in them and the natural products obtained from them is increasing. Total plant extracts are a multicomponent mixture of biologically active compounds. Many of them exhibit a pronounced antiviral effect and limit the development of resistant strains. This ability is the result of the synergistic interaction of the various substances in their composition, as well as their multi-stage mechanism of action. In addition, biologically active compounds are usually small molecules with drug-like properties, which allows them to be more easily absorbed and metabolized by the body. This Special Issue will provide information on the antiviral effects of newly investigated plant materials, and their mechanisms of inhibition of viral replication or inactivation of extracellular viruses. Emphasis will be placed on the discovery of active metabolites from plants for use in human and veterinary medicine in the fight against viral infections.
This Special Issue is supervised by Prof. Dr. Stoyan Shishkov and assisted by our Topical Advisory Panel Member Prof. Dr. Kalina Shishkova (Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski). We encourage authors to submit manuscripts with single pure component studies. If the plant extracts are mixtures, please note that the component composition analysis data should be included in the paper.
Prof. Dr. Stoyan Shishkov
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- plant extracts
- secondary metabolites
- metabolomics
- antiviral activity
- human viruses
- SARS-CoV-2
- animal viruses
- phytochemical composition
- medicinal substances
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