In-vitro Antiviral Activity of Indian Medicinal Plants to Asian and East Central South African Lineage of Chikungunya Virus

Indian medicinal plants traditionally used for the treatment of viral infections with high fever, arthritis, inflammation were investigated for their in vitro antiviral activity against the Asian and East Central South African lineage of Chikungunya virus. In vitro cytotoxic assay of aqueous, aqueous ethanolic and ethanolic extracts of Alpinia Galanga (L) Willd., Alpinia Officinarum Hance., Andrographis paniculata Wall. ex. Nees , Melia azedarach L., and Azadirachta indica A. Juss were assessed for the determination of maximal nontoxic concentration in Vero cell lines. Antiviral activity of aqueous, aqueous ethanolic and ethanolic extracts of plants were determined by the inhibition of virus induced cytopathic assay to both lineages of Chikungunya virus aqueous ethanolic and ethanolic extracts of Melia azedarach L. were found to be effective and inhibited the growth of Chikungunya virus. Asian strain of Chikungunya virus was found to be more susceptible at lower concentrations of the extracts tested than the ECSA strain. INTRODUCTION: Chikungunya virus is an alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family and was first isolated from the serum of a febrile patient during a dengue epidemic that occurred in the Newala district, Tanzania, in 1953 1 . Chikungunya means “the bent walker” in Swahili. Phylogentically, Chikungunya virus has been classified into three different clades, primarly by geography into West African, Central/East African and Asian CHIKV 2 . A classical triad of signs for CHIKV infection includes fever, arthralgia and rash. QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.6(2).692-97 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.6(2).692-97 CHIKV illness begins with a sudden onset of fever reaching as high as 104°F that may last upto 10 days. Significant manifestation of CHIKV illness is severe joint pain and arthralgia. It is commonly symmetrical and peripheral being noted in the ankles, toes, fingers, elbows, wrists and knees. The affected joints exhibit extreme tenderness and swelling with incapacitating pain that may lasts for weeks or months. Paresthesia of the skin over the affected joints is reported. 3 Chikungunya virus infection causes various ocular manifestations like non granulomatous anterior uveitis, episcleritis, panuveitis, granulomatous anterior uveitis, optic neuritis, sixth nerve palsy, retrobulbar neuritis, retinitis with vitritis, neuroretinitis, keratitis, central retinal artery occlusion, choroiditis, exudative retinal detachment and secondary glaucoma, unilateral papillitis, bilateral papillitis, retrobulbar neuritis, perineuritis,