A strong inhibitory effect on influenza virus was confirmed in lotus leaf extract. Courtesy of Getty Images Bank
The effect of suppressing the influenza (flu) virus in lotus leaf extract was confirmed. It is expected that it will be used in the development of a new strain of influenza virus treatment in the future.
The Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine announced on the 13th that a research team led by Jin-yeol Ma, a senior researcher at the Center for Oriental Medicine Technology Application, confirmed the strong inhibitory effect of ingredients derived from lotus leaves once morest the influenza virus that causes influenza.
In a previous study, the research team confirmed that lotus leaf extract inhibits neuraminidase and hemagglutinin, which are proteins that cause 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 that it has antiviral efficacy once morest various viruses such as Zika, Ebola, and Herpes.
As a result of the experiment, isoquercitrin inhibited the virus attachment and penetration into cells in the early stage of influenza virus infection even at low concentrations. Not only does it have the effect of directly killing the virus, but it also inhibits the process of virus propagation and release in cells, confirming its antiviral efficacy.
Principal researcher Ma Jin-yeol said, “We plan to verify the antiviral efficacy once morest the influenza virus that is resistant to Tamiflu, a commonly used flu treatment, and to verify the efficacy using animal models.” The research results were published on October 28 in the International Journal of Molecular Science, an international academic journal.
Inhibiting activity of lotus leaf extract (isoquercetin) and Tamiflu once morest proteins that cause infection and proliferation of influenza virus. Provided by Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine
