Bioactive Plant Compounds Against Viral Diseases: A Reviev

Abstract

 Infectious diseases arise due to penetration of the body tissues by microorganisms such as bacteria, virus, fungus, and parasite. In modern era, viral infections are one of the main causes of disease globally, due to the increase of migration, global transport and urbanization. There are many antiviral drugs and vaccines available against viruses, but these have several side effects and active mutation of viruses also create drug resistance. In developed countries, 80% of the population depends on traditional medicines for their primary health issues, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Relatedly, India is one of the highest medicinal herbs producing country. Long-term use by human, low toxicity and abundance of bioactive plant compounds led scientists to search herbs as a source for the discovery of more efficient new antivirals. In this review, we focus on the importance of plant extracts and their isolated pure compounds and their potential application in treating or preventing viral diseases.

Keywords: HIV, HSV, Hepatitis C virus, influenza virus, COVID-19, phytochemicals.