Inhibition of bovine viral diarrhea virus in vitro by xanthohumol: Comparisons with ribavirin and interferon-α and implications for the development of anti-hepatitis C virus agents

Xanthohumol (XN) is a natural compound with potential antiviral activity. In this study, the ability of XN to inhibit bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), a surrogate model of hepatitis C virus (HCV), was investigated. The antiviral activity of XN was compared with that of ribavirin (RBV) and interferon (IFN)-α. The results showed that XN could inhibit BVDV induced cytopathic effects (CPE). At 1000 TCID50 and 100 TCID50, the values of 50% effective concentration (EC50) were 3.24 ± 0.02 mg/l and 2.77 ± 0.19 mg/l, respectively, and the therapeutic indices were >7.72 and >9.03, respectively. XN inhibited BVDV E2 expression and viral RNA levels in a dose-dependent manner. At 6.25 mg/l, XN decreased the viral RNA from released virus by 3.83 log 10 at 1000 TCID50 and to an undetectable level at 100 TCID50, and decreased the viral RNA level in whole cell culture by 3.36 log 10 and 2.88 log 10 at 1000 TCID50 and 100 TCID50, respectively. The inhibitory activity of XN on CPE, BVDV E2 expression and viral RNA levels was stronger than that of RBV and weaker than that of IFN-α. These results indicate the need to investigate the anti-HCV potential of XN.