Virucidal and Antiviral Activity of Extract of Punica Granatum Cultivated in Brazil

Background: The arthropod-borne Mayaro virus (MAYV) causes ‘Mayaro fever’, a disease of medical significance, primarily affecting individuals in permanent contact with forested areas in tropical South America. Recently, MAYV has attracted attention due to its likely urbanization. Currently, there are no licensed drugs against most mosquito-transmitted viruses. Punica granatum (pomegranate) fruits cultivated in Brazil were submitted to a phytochemical investigation for the identification and isolation of antiviral compounds. In the present study we studied the antiviral activity of pomegranate extracts in Vero cells infected with Mayaro virus. Methods: : The Ethanol extract and Punicalagin of Pomegranate were extracted solely of the shell and purified by chromatographic fractionation and chemically identified using spectroscopic techniques. Cytotoxicity of purified compounds was measured by the dye-uptake assay while their antiviral activity was evaluated by a virus yield inhibition assay. Results: : Pomegranate ethanol extract (CC 50 = 588.9, IC 50 = 12.3) and a fraction containing punicalagin as major compound (CC 50 = 441.5, IC 50 = 28.2) were shown to have antiviral activity (SI 49 and 16, respectively) against Mayaro virus, an alphavirus. Immunofluorescence analysis showed the virucidal effect of Pomegranate extract and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) revealed damage in viral particles treated with this extract. Conclusions: : The P. granatum extract is a promising source of antiviral compounds against the alphavirus MAYV and are excellent candidates for future studies with other enveloped RNA viruses.