Study summary · research use only
Screening of melatonin, α-tocopherol, folic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine and resveratrol for anti-dengue 2 virus activity
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This study (species not specified for the two cell lines used) screened five natural compounds, melatonin, α-tocopherol, folic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine, and resveratrol, for activity against dengue virus (DENV) 2 infection in two different cell lines. The authors report that acetyl-L-carnitine showed no effect on DENV infection, three compounds (melatonin, α-tocopherol, and folic acid) slightly increased levels of infection, and the 5th compound, resveratrol, showed some limited anti-DENV activity, reducing virus output with an EC50 of less than 25 μM. The authors state these results suggest some commonly taken natural compounds may have beneficial effects on DENV infection, while others may potentially add to the disease burden.
Abstract
Infections with the mosquito transmitted dengue virus (DENV) are a significant public health burden in many parts of the world. Despite the introduction of a commercial vaccine in some parts of the world, the majority of the populations at risk of infection remain unprotected against this disease, and there is currently no treatment for DENV infection. Natural compounds offer the prospect of cheap and sustainable therapeutics to reduce the disease burden during infection, and thus potentially alleviate the risk of more severe disease. This study evaluated the potential anti-DENV 2 activity of five natural compounds namely melatonin, α-tocopherol, folic acid, acetyl-L-carnitine and resveratrol in two different cell lines. Screening of the compounds showed that one compound (acetyl-L-carnitine) showed no effect on DENV infection, three compounds (melatonin, α-tocopherol and folic acid) slightly increased levels of infection, while the 5th compound, resveratrol, showed some limited anti-DENV activity, with resveratrol reducing virus output with an EC50 of less than 25 μM. These results suggest that some commonly taken natural compounds may have beneficial effects on DENV infection, but that others may potentially add to the disease burden.
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