Anti-zika activity of Ouratea semiserrata and dereplication of its constituents.

Abstract

Zika virus is an arbovirus that has vector mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. In adult humans, the infection may be asymptomatic or present mild symptoms such as itching and low fever. However, the infection is associated with other severe problems, which encouraged investigations for an effective treatment against this virus. This work evaluated the potential anti-Zika virus effect of the ethanolic extract of Ouratea semiserrata (Mart. & Nees) Engl., Ochnaceae, a medicinal plant popularly used in Brazil for the treatment of viral infections. The extract of the stems was prepared by cold percolation using ethanol as solvent and its content

dereplicated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-tandem mass spectrometry. Phenolic com- pounds including rutin, catechin, and epicatechin were identified as the major constituents. The antiviral activity was tested

in vitro against Zika virus by the MTT colorimetric method. The ethanol extract inhibited the viral replication cycle with an EC50 of 37.5 μg/ml, and at the concentration of 100 μg/ml, a 100% inhibition of the viral cytopathic effect was obtained. Rutin and epicatechin inhibited viral cytopathic effect in Vero cells with EC50 > 50.00 μg/ml.