In Vitro Screening for Compounds Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicines with Antiviral Activities Against Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

Seventeen compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) were tested for their antiviral activity against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in vitro. Visualization with the cytopathologic effect (CPE) assay and the 3-(4, 5-dimethyithiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide test were used to determine the 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) and 50% effective concentration (EC50) in cultured Marc-145 cells. Among the tested compounds, chlorogenic acid and scutellarin showed potential anti-PRRSV activity. The EC50 values were 270.8 +/- 14.6 mu g/ml and 28.21 +/- 26.0 mu g/ml and the selectivity indexes were >5.54 and 35.5, respectively. The time-of-addition and virucidal assay indicated that the anti-PRRSV activity of the two compounds could be due to their inhibiting the early stage of virus replication and/or inactivating the virus directly. The inhibition of the virus attachment was not observed in the adsorption inhibition assay. The inhibition ratios of chlorogenic acid and scutellarin were, respectively, 90.8% and 61.1% at the maximum non-cytotoxic concentrations. The results have provided a basis for further exploration of their antiviral properties and mechanisms in vivo. We believe that the chlorogenic acid and scutellarin have a great potential to be developed as new anti-PRRSV drugs for clinical application.