Antiviral-guided fractionation and isolation of phenolic compounds from Limonium densiflorum hydroalcoholic extract

A preliminary antiviral plate assay of the green solvent (hydro-ethanolic) shoot extract of Limonium densiflorum showed a potent activity against the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). In order to isolate the active compounds, an in vitro bio-guided fractionation was undertaken by preparative chromatographic techniques. On the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, the structure of the isolated compounds was determined as gallic acid, epigallocatechin gallate, quercitrin, dihydrokaempferol, pinoresinol, N-trans-ferulolyl tyramine and (myricetin 3-O-α-rhamnopyranoside and myricetin 3-O-L-arabinofuranoside). Moreover, all isolated molecules were evaluated for their virucidality against HSV-1. Results showed that gallic acid and epigallocatechin gallate have strong activity, while pinoresinol and N-trans-ferulolyl tyramine have moderate activity. Whereas, the other molecules were inactive.