Antiviral activity on the Zika virus and larvicidal activity on the Aedes spp. of Lippia alba essential oil and β-caryophyllene

• Published in: Industrial crops and products 2021-04, Vol.162, p.113281, Article 113281
• Main Authors: Nogueira Sobrinho, Antonio Carlos, de Morais, Selene Maia, Marinho, Márcia Machado, de Souza, Natália Vasconcelos, Lima, Danielle Malta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aedes spp; Essential oil; Molecular docking; Sesquiterpenes; Zika virus
• ISSN: 0926-6690; 1872-633X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113281

•Chemical composition of volatile oil extracted from Lippia alba chemotype.•β-caryophyllene as a major constituent.•The antiviral activities of Lippia alba and β-caryophyllene were promising.•β-caryophyllene showing interactions with amino acid residues from non structural proteins.•Lippia alba and β-caryophyllene may be useful for biotechnological applications. Lippia alba is a species widely used in folk medicine for various health treatments. Essential oil from L. alba and its major compound β-caryophyllene were examined for its antiviral activity against Zika virus (ZIKV) in vitro and in silico. In addition, the larvicidal activity on the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus larvae of the third instar was investigated. Anti-zika activity of these products was determined at different stages of ZIKV infection and replication cycle. Selectivity Index value (SI) was determined as the ratio of cytotoxic concentration 50 (CC50) to inhibitory concentration 50 (IC50) for each compound. Molecular docking assay was carried to identify the interaction between β-caryophyllene and ZIKV enzymes (NS1, NS2B-NS3 and NS5). Essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), whose extraction yield was 3.31 %. L. alba essential oil showed lower cytotoxicity on the vero cells, with CC50 = 1789.9, when compared with the β-caryophyllene (CC50 = 390.8). Essential oil exhibited a greater antiviral effect in the assays of virucidal activity (IC50 = 32.2 μg/mL) and post-treatment (IC50 = 54.1 μg/mL), with SI values of 55.6 and 33.1, respectively. β-caryophyllene inhibits the replication of ZIKV replication in the early stages of the viral cycle (IC50 = 74.4 μg/mL), whose SI was 5.2. Of all the investigated samples, only β-caryophyllene exhibited a larvicidal effect on the A. albopictus larvae (LC50 = 73.4 ± 1.68 μg/mL). Molecular docking confimed the antiviral activity of β-caryophyllene showing interactions with amino acid residues from the target sites of NS2B-NS3 and in greater numbers with NS5.