Antiviral Activity of Beebread, Bee-Collected Pollen and Artificially Fermented Pollen against Influenza A Virus
Tilemachos G. Dimitriou,
Nikos Asoutis Didaras,
Christina Barda,
Dimitra Skopeliti,
Katerina Kontogianni,
Katerina Karatasou,
Helen Skaltsa,
Dimitris Mossialos
Affiliations
Tilemachos G. Dimitriou
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Bacteriology-Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 42500 Larissa, Greece
Nikos Asoutis Didaras
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Bacteriology-Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 42500 Larissa, Greece
Christina Barda
Department of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian, University of Athens, Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
Dimitra Skopeliti
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Bacteriology-Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 42500 Larissa, Greece
Katerina Kontogianni
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Bacteriology-Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 42500 Larissa, Greece
Katerina Karatasou
Apicultural Centre of Larissa, Federation of Greek Beekeepers Associations, 41500 Larissa, Greece
Helen Skaltsa
Department of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, Faculty of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian, University of Athens, Zografou, 15771 Athens, Greece
Dimitris Mossialos
Laboratory of Microbial Biotechnology, Molecular Bacteriology-Virology, Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, School of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, 42500 Larissa, Greece
Bee-collected pollen (BCP) and the naturally fermented BCP product known as bee bread (BB) are functional foods renowned for their nutritious, antioxidant, antibacterial and other therapeutic properties. This is the first study employed to assess the antiviral activity of BCP and BB against influenza A virus (IAV) H1N1 along with their proteinaceous, aqueous and n-butanol fractions. Additionally, artificially fermented BCP has been evaluated against IAV (H1N1). Antiviral activity was assessed in vitro by comparative real-time PCR assay. IC50 values ranged from 0.022 to 10.04 mg/mL, and Selectivity Index (SI) values ranged from 1.06 to 338.64. Artificially fermented BCP samples AF5 and AF17 demonstrated higher SI values than unfermented BCP, and proteinaceous fractions demonstrated the highest SI values. The chemical profile of BCP and BB samples, analyzed using NMR and LC-MS, revealed the presence of specialized metabolites that may contribute toward the antiviral activity. Overall, the significant anti-IAV activity of BB and BCP harvested in Thessaly (Greece) could be attributed to chemical composition (especially undiscovered yet proteinaceous compounds) and possibly to microbiome metabolism. Further research regarding the antiviral properties of BCP and BB will elucidate the mode of action and could lead to new treatments against IAV or other viral diseases.
