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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Virol.

Sec. Antivirals and Vaccines

Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fviro.2025.1632734

This article is part of the Research TopicBridging Gaps in Antiviral Therapy: Innovative Approaches in Drug Discovery and Vaccine DevelopmentView all articles

Plant-derivate extracts and natural products with antiviral activity

Provisionally accepted
Giovane de Jesus Gomes RibeiroGiovane de Jesus Gomes Ribeiro1Edmarcia Elisa De SouzaEdmarcia Elisa De Souza1Giuseppe PalmisanoGiuseppe Palmisano1Edison Luiz DurigonEdison Luiz Durigon2,3Eva LiebauEva Liebau4Carsten WrengerCarsten Wrenger1,3*
  • 1Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 2Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 3Institut Pasteur de São Paulo, São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
  • 4Institute of Integrative Cell Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Münster, Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

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In recent years, several viral epidemics and pandemics have emerged, leading to significant increases in both morbidity and mortality rates. This highlights the urgent need for the discovery of effective antiviral agents. A promising alternative approach to treating viral infections is the use of medicinal plants and their secondary metabolites. Plant-derived natural products have long been a valuable source for discovering novel therapeutic agents, owing to their chemical and structural diversity. This mini-review focuses on the antiviral activity of various enriched extracts and phytoconstituents isolated from medicinal plants, which have demonstrated efficacy against viral infections caused by the influenza virus, coronaviruses, arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and Mayaro, as well as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Keywords: medicinal plants, Natural Products, antiviral and pharmacological targets, SARS-CoV-2, ZIKV, CHIKV, MAYV

Received: 21 May 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Ribeiro, De Souza, Palmisano, Durigon, Liebau and Wrenger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Carsten Wrenger, Department of Parasitology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05508-000, São Paulo, Brazil

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material