Plants as Antiviral Agents

Protease inhibitors as antiviral agents.

Currently, there are a number of approved antiviral agents for use in the treatment of viral infections. However, many instances exist in which the use of a second antiviral agent would be beneficial because it would allow the option of either an alternative or a combination therapeutic approach. Accordingly, virus-encoded proteases have emerged as new targets for antiviral intervention. Molecu...

Medicinal Plants as Immunosuppressive Agents in Traditional Iranian Medicine

Mucin biopolymers as broad-spectrum antiviral agents.

Mucus is a porous biopolymer matrix that coats all wet epithelia in the human body and serves as the first line of defense against many pathogenic bacteria and viruses. However, under certain conditions viruses are able to penetrate this infection barrier, which compromises the protective function of native mucus. Here, we find that isolated porcine gastric mucin polymers, key structural compon...

Probiotics as Antiviral Agents in Shrimp Aquaculture

Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business for the cultivation of marine shrimps or prawns for human consumption and is now considered as a major economic and food production sector as it is an increasingly important source of protein available for human consumption. Intensification of shrimp farming had led to the development of a number of diseases, which resulted in the excessive use of antim...

Plants as useful agents for angiogenesis and tumor growth prevention

Introduction: Angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation from pre-existing vessels, has important physiological roles in embryonic development, female reproduction cycle, and wound healing. It is also crucial for pathological processes in several diseases especially tumor growth and metastasis. Thereby, inhibition of angiogenesis as an addition to the conventional therapies such...