African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (15), pp. 1770-1773, 6 August 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Antiviral activity of Aloe vera against herpes simplex virus type 2: An in vitro study

Keivan Zandi¹*, Moloud Abbas Zadeh¹, Kohzad Sartavi² and Zahra Rastian¹

¹Persian Gulf Health Research Centre, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.

²Jahad Keshavarzi Research Centre, Bushehr, Iran.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: keivanzandi@yahoo.com or zandi@dr.com. Fax: +98-771-2531933; Tel.: +98-917-371 2079.

Accepted 26 June, 2007

In this study we tested the antiviral activity of a crude hot glycerine extract of Aloe vera gel which was grown in Bushehr (Southwest of Iran) against HSV-2 replication in Vero cell line. The extract showed antiviral activity against HSV-2 not only before attachment and entry of virus to the Vero cells but also on post attachment stages of virus replication. The IC₅₀ before attachment and entry of virus to the cells is 428 µg/ml and the CC₅₀ value which is the cytotoxicity of the extract for Vero cells is 3238 µg/ml, while the calculated selectivity index (SI) is 7.56. Also, IC₅₀ of extract on post attachment stages of replication is 536 µg/ml and the SI value for inhibition of the post attachment stages of HSV-2 replication is 6.04. Therefore, compounds of Aloe vera from Bushehr could be a good candidate as a natural source for antiviral drug development against HSV-2.

Key words: Aloe vera, antiviral, HSV-2, hot glycerine extract.