CYTOTOXIC AND ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY OF RIBES UVA CRISPA LINN. AND RIBES MULTIFLORUM KIT. EX ROMER AND SCHULTES EXTRACTS

ABSTRACT: To find new antiviral agents from natural sources, methanol and aqueous extracts   of   leaves   and   fruits of Ribes uva –crispa and Ribes multiflorum naturally grown in Turkey were investigated as in vitro to reveal their antiviral activities against Herpes simplex virus type 1. All experiments were performed in 96-well plates and results were measured with XTT-based colorimetric assay. Results demonstrated that all extracts have no cytotoxic effect on vero cells at 10000 µg/mL, while they also exhibited anti-HSV-1 activity with different  percentages  of protection (varying between 2.65% – 50.40%) in 10000 µg/mL which was at the highest concentration  in  vero cells. 50% effective concentrations (EC₅₀) of the extracts which were determined having percentage of protection against HSV-1 at concentrations lower than 10000 µg/mL were calculated  using  GraphPad  Prism  Version 5.03 statistics program with  non-linear  regression  analysis. These extracts were determined to have EC₅₀ values ranging between 9710 – 70600 µg/mL and selectivity index (SI) are ranging between 0.14 – 1.03. On the basis of these results we believe that it would be worthwhile expanding these studies to include additional species of Turkish plants