Antiviral Activity of Flavonoids from Geopropolis of the Brazilian Jandaira Bee against Zika and Dengue Viruses
Poliana Gomes da Silva,
Elton José Ferreira Chaves,
Tania Maria Sarmento Silva,
Gerd Bruno Rocha,
Willyenne Marília Dantas,
Ronaldo Nascimento de Oliveira,
Lindomar José Pena
Affiliations
Poliana Gomes da Silva
Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Therapy (Lavite), Department of Virology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife 50670-420, Pernambuco, Brazil
Elton José Ferreira Chaves
Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Therapy (Lavite), Department of Virology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife 50670-420, Pernambuco, Brazil
Tania Maria Sarmento Silva
Phytochemical Bioprospecting Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
Gerd Bruno Rocha
Laboratory of Computational Quantum Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58050-085, Paraiba, Brazil
Willyenne Marília Dantas
Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Therapy (Lavite), Department of Virology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife 50670-420, Pernambuco, Brazil
Ronaldo Nascimento de Oliveira
Bioactive Compounds Synthesis Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
Lindomar José Pena
Laboratory of Virology and Experimental Therapy (Lavite), Department of Virology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute (IAM), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife 50670-420, Pernambuco, Brazil
Arthropod-borne viruses within the Flaviviridae family such as Zika (ZIKV) and dengue (DENV) are responsible for major outbreaks in tropical countries, and there are no specific treatments against them. Naringenin and 7-O-methyl naringenin are flavonoids that can be extracted from geopropolis, a natural material that the Brazilian Jandaira stingless bee (Melipona subnitida Ducke) produces to protect its nest. Here, these flavonoids were tested against ZIKV and DENV using Vero cells as a cellular model to perform a cytotoxicity assay and to define the effective concentrations of TCID50 as the readout method. The results demonstrated the antiviral activity of the compounds against both viruses upon the treatment of infected cells. The tested flavonoids had antiviral activity comparable with 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside (6-MMPr), used here as a positive control. In addition, to identify the possible action mechanism of the antiviral candidates, we carried out a docking analysis followed by a molecular dynamics simulation to elucidate naringenin and 7-O-methyl naringenin binding sites to each virus. Altogether, these results demonstrate that both flavonoids have potent antiviral effects against both viruses and warrant further in vivo trials.
