Promising Role of Emodin as Therapeutics to Against Viral Infections

Qingqing Shao; Tong Liu; Wenjia Wang; Tianli Liu; Ximing Jin; Zhuo Chen

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.902626

Promising Role of Emodin as Therapeutics to Against Viral Infections

Front Pharmacol. 2022 May 4:13:902626. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.902626. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Qingqing Shao¹, Tong Liu¹, Wenjia Wang¹, Tianli Liu¹, Ximing Jin¹, Zhuo Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
² Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.

Abstract

Emodin is an anthraquinone derivative that is widely present in natural plants and has a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and anticancer and so on. Through reviewing studies on antiviral effect of emodin in the past decades, we found that emodin exhibits ability of inhibiting the infection and replication of more than 10 viruses in vitro and in vivo, including herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), coxsackievirus B (CVB), hepatitis B virus (HBV), influenza A virus (IAV), SARS-CoV, viral haemorrhagic septicaemia rhabdovirus (VHSV), enterovirus 71 (EV71), dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2) and Zika virus (ZIKV). Therefore, this review aims to summarize the antiviral effect of emodin, in order to provide reference and hopes to support the further investigations.

Keywords: COVID-19; HCMV (human cytomegalovirus); HSV-2; emodin; virus infection.

Publication types

Review