Pharmaceutical and phytochemical evaluation of a novel anti – white spot syndrome virus drug derived from terrestrial plants

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV), the most contagious pathogen of cultured shrimp, causes mass mortality, leading to huge economic loss to the shrimp industry. The lack of effective therapeutic or prophylactic measures has aggravated the situation, necessitating the development of antiviral drugs. With this objective, the antiviral activity of the drug, (TP22C derived from the terrestrial plant) in the host, Litopenaeus vannamei was evaluated. The phytochemical and pharmaceutical characterization of TP22C was carried out. The in vivo anlysis of TP22C in the host – pathogen interaction model revealed the efficiency of the drug. The survival percentage of the treated (with TP22C) WSSV infected host was 86 %. Neither the VP 28 gene nor the immediate early genes (ie) were expressed in the host at the 42 nd and 84 th hrs. Significant results were obtained from the toxicity assays of the drug in shrimp model. The phytochemical screening, biochemical constituents assay, elemental analysis, antioxidant property evaluation and phytochemical fingerprint profiling predicts that TP22C can protect L. vannamei from the WSSV infection, at a dose far below the toxicity level. © 2013 Universal Research Publications. All rights reserved