A strong inhibitory effect on the influenza virus has been confirmed in lotus leaf extract. Courtesy of Getty Images bank
The effect of suppressing the influenza (influenza) virus in lotus leaf extract has been confirmed. It is expected to be used in the development of a new treatment strain of the influenza virus in the future.
On the 13th, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine announced that a research team led by Jin-yeol Ma, senior researcher at the Center for Oriental Medicine Technology Application, confirmed the strong inhibitory effect of ingredients derived from lotus leaves against the flu virus causing flu.
In an earlier study, the research team confirmed that lotus leaf extract inhibits neuraminidase and hemagglutinin, which are proteins that cause the infection and proliferation of influenza viruses.
In this study, isoquercitrin was identified as a component that plays a direct role in antiviral efficacy in lotus leaf extract. Isoquercitrin is an antiviral component contained in many natural products including lotus leaves. It has been reported to have antiviral efficacy against various viruses such as Zika, Ebola and Herpes.
As a result of the experiment, isoquercitrin inhibited virus attachment and cell penetration in the initial stage of influenza virus infection even at low concentrations. It not only has the effect of directly killing the virus, but also inhibits the process of propagating and releasing the virus into cells, confirming its antiviral efficacy.
Principal investigator Ma Jin-yeol said, “We plan to test the antiviral efficacy against the resistant influenza virus of Tamiflu, a commonly used flu treatment, and to test the efficacy using animal models.” The research findings were published Oct. 28 in the International Journal of Molecular Science, an international academic journal.
Inhibitory activity of lotus leaf extract (isoquercetin) and Tamiflu against proteins that cause influenza virus infection and proliferation. Provided by the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine
