Antiviral- Effects of Herbs
HIV and Hypericum Perforatum Herb
- The most significant development in herbal treatment of viral infections is the recent discovery of the antiviral properties of hypercin and pseudohypricin-the major components of St Johns wort(hypericum)
Considerable interest was generated in 1988 after the publication of study which demonstrated that hypericin and pseudohypericin have noted activity against retroviruses. Retroviruses were relatively obscure group of animal viruses until the discovery last decade that the retrovirus HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) was responsible for causing AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Several pharmacological studies have since been published and clinical trials using hypericin or herb Hypericum have begun.
The salient points of the studies published to date are as follows:
- Hypericin has significantly stronger antiretroviral activity than pseudohypericin.
- Their mode of action on retroviruses is not understood: but it appears they inactivate mouse and human retroviruses, including HIV3.
- They interfere with the assembly or processing of viral components by an infected cell, significantly decreasing the production of mature viral particles, but without directly inhibiting viral proteins.
Such combination of activities appears to be unique and contrasts with currently used antiviretroviral agents such as AZT (azidothymidine) with directly inhibit viral proteins.
- Their antiretroviral activity was superior to AZT in an animal model, because the toxicity of AZT limited the dosage which could be used.
- Their antiretroviral activity was synergistic with AZT in an animal model.
- They prolonged the survival of animals infected with retrovirus if adminstered with or after infection.
- In slow retroviral animal models administration of hypericin or pseudohypericin 2 weeks or more after virus inoculation significantly ameliorated the resultant infection.
- Both compounds appear to have very low in vitro or in vivo toxicity.
- Hypericin and pseudohypericin specifically inhibited PKC (protein kinase C) with hypericin having stronger activity. This suggest that inhibition of PKC, which plays an important role in signal transduction in the cell, may be related to the antiviral effect.
The voice of the Practitioner
- More than 80% of the world population use some kind of Materia Medica.
- In the least developing countries people die and buried without knowing whether they died of desease or of matera medica (herbs) they used.
- 66% of the AIDS case located in Africapherbs are the medication of choice for treatment.
- Shouldn’t this require the voice of practitioners to be heard.
In the safeguarding and development of herbal medicine the voice of the practitioner must be heard. Authorities around the world need to acknowledge the training and skills of traditional healers and of the herbal practitioners since in many instance the practice of herbal medicine offers a low cost and highly effective alternative to orthodox drug treatment. People now firmly believe that ( the whole is better than part) this will call upon physicians , medical , pharmacology, and the science students specially in the least developing countries to know about medicinal herbs because many patients use them and are often guided by misconception or inaccurate information.
Whether or not physicians intend to prescribe herbal therapies, it is important that they understand the potential associated health consequences so that they can help patients make informed decision about their use. In this lecture we tried to review some of commonly used herbs for prevention of diseases, as well as to indicate areas in need of further research, popular interest in herbal therapies is stimulating research that will help clarify issues such as constituents, indications, effective dosage and safety of medicinal uses. Students all over the world are encouraged to carry as much as possible researches on common herbs used in their communities and report the findings to share with professional and medical practitioners.
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