Author(s)

Dina Mofed^1*, Wafaa Ahmed¹, Abdel-Rahman Zekri², Ola Said², Mohamed Rahouma³, Ahmed Hassan Ibrahim Faraag⁴

¹Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, Department of Cancer Biology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
²Immunity and Virology Unit, Department of Cancer Biology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
³Department of Surgical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
⁴Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt.

Objective: Evaluation antiviral effects of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) leaf extract against HCV. Methods: cell proliferation was assessed using MTT assay after isolation of lymphocyte cells and treated with Ashwagandha water extract (ASH-WX) (6.25 mg/ml - 100 mg/ml). Assessment of quantitative Real-time PCR, Colony forming assay, TNF-α and molecular docking studies after infection of normal lymphocyte cells with 1 ml (1.5 × 10⁶ HCV) serum then incubated with ASH-WX at concentration 25 mg/ml & 50 mg/ml. Results: MTT assay revealed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in normal lymphocyte proliferation at all concentration’s particularity at 25 mg/ml with SI (6.06) and at 50 mg/ml with (5.8). While TNF-α significantly decreased following ASH-WX treatment compared with control untreated infected cells (p < 0.05). PCR results showed a marked viral load reduction after treatment by ASH-WX at concentration 25 mg/ml to 6.241 × 10³ IU/mL. Colony formation assay test revealed colony formation reduction compared to positive untreated control. Molecular docking analysis revealed good prediction of binding between Ashwagandha and NS5B and PKN2 compared to Sovaldi. Conclusion: ASH-WX may be a powerful antiviral against HCV infection.

Antiviral, Ashwagandha, Hepatitis C Virus, Docking, Lymphocyte

Mofed, D. , Ahmed, W. , Zekri, A. , Said, O. , Rahouma, M. and Faraag, A. (2020) The Antiviral Efficacy of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) against Hepatitis C Virus Activity: In Vitro and in Silico Study. Advances in Microbiology, 10, 463-477. doi: 10.4236/aim.2020.109035.