Abstract

Antiviral activity of Withania somnifera and Curcuma longa against Foot and Mouth Disease Virus

Authors: Faiza Ashraf, Abdul Sajid, Baitullah Khan, Hanif Ur Rahman, Shahid Khan, Sibghat Ullah, Qamar Ullah, Rafiullah and Maleeha Anwar

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.71081/cvj/2021.004

Abstract
Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cloven- hooved animals that has devastating outcomes. Apart from vaccination, there is no antiviral therapy available to treat the on-going FMD. The current trial was carried out to investigate the antiviral activity of Withania somnifera (W. somnifera) and Curcuma longa (C. longa) plants traditionally used against Foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV). Tissue culture technique along with 3-(4, 5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate the antiviral properties of two medicinal plants using the FMDV. The ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of W. somnifera and C. longa were used to determine in-vitro antiviral activity against the FMDV serotype-O. The maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD) of ethanolic and ethyl acetate extract of W. somnifera roots and C. longa were 0.625 mg/ml, 0.312 mg/ml, 5 mg/ml, and 0.625 mg/ml, respectively. For antiviral activity test, 10 tissue culture infective dose 50 (TCID-50) of FMDV type-O was incubated with MNTD of each of the plant extracts for one hour prior to inoculation on cells. The preliminary antiviral extracts were tested for 3 days, and the cytopathic effects were assessed by MTT dye uptake assay. The percentage protection of baby hamster kidney-21 (BHK-21) cells against FMDV by using MNTD of ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of W. somnifera and C. longa were found 77.4, 76.3, 55.4, and 67.1%, respectively. Results indicated that the extract of W. somnifera possesses more antiviral effect as compared to C. longa, although the ethanolic extracts of both plants showed highest activity as compared to their ethyl acetate extracts. As these two medicinal plants possess good antiviral activities in-vitro against the FMDV Serotype O, therefore, further research is needed to be carried out by performing in-vivo trials, so that their antiviral properties may be assessed, and their use may be recommended in the field.

Keywords: Foot and Mouth Disease Virus, Withania somnifera, Curcuma longa, Antiviral activity, Cell culture