In Vitro Anti-Influenza A Virus H1N1 Effect of Sesquiterpene-Rich Extracts of Carpesium abrotanoides

Molecules. 2022 Nov 29;27(23):8313. doi: 10.3390/molecules27238313.

Abstract

Due to a high content of sesquiterpenes, Carpesium abrotanoides has been investigated to fully explore its health-promoting properties. Therefore, this work aimed to assess, for the first time, the anti-influenza A virus H1N1 potential of sesquiterpene-targeted fractions of the herb derived from C. abrotanoides. Five compounds, including four sesquiterpenes and one aldehyde, were isolated and identified from the sesquiterpene-rich extracts of C. abrotanoides (SECA), and the contents of three main sesquiterpenes in the SECA were determined. Furthermore, SECA showed a significant protective effect in the MDCK cells infected with influenza A virus (H1N1) in three different conditions: premixed administration, prophylactic administration, and therapeutic administration. SECA can significantly decrease the mRNA expressions of TLR4, MyD88, NF-κB, TNF-α, and IL-6, as well as the protein expressions of TLR4, MyD88, and NF-κB. This result suggests that SECA can resist the influenza A virus H1N1 through the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signal pathway.

Keywords: TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signal pathway; anti-influenza A virus H1N1; sesquiterpene; the sesquiterpene-rich extracts of Carpesium abrotanoides.

MeSH terms

  • Asteraceae*
  • Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype*
  • Influenza A virus*
  • Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88
  • NF-kappa B
  • Sesquiterpenes* / pharmacology

Substances

  • NF-kappa B
  • Sesquiterpenes
  • Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the Hunan Provincial National Natural Science Foundation, China (No. 2020JJ4067), the Scientific Research Project of Hunan Provincial Department of Education, China (No. 19A368,19K067), the Science Program of Hunan Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China (No. C2022043, A2022005-4), and First-class Discipline Project on Chinese Pharmacology of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine (No. 201803).