Broad Antiviral Activity of Ginkgolic Acid against Chikungunya, Mayaro, Una, and Zika Viruses

Abstract

The alphaviruses Chikungunya (CHIKV), Mayaro (MAYV), Una (UNAV), and the flavivirus Zika (ZIKV) are emerging or re-emerging arboviruses which are responsible for frequent epidemic outbreaks. Despite the large impact of these arboviruses on health systems, there are no approved vaccines or treatments to fight these infections. As a consequence, there is an urgent need to discover new antiviral drugs. Natural products are a rich source of compounds with distinct biological activities, including antiviral properties. Thus, we aimed to explore the potential antiviral activity of Ginkgolic acid against the arboviruses CHIKV, MAYV, UNAV, and ZIKV. Viral progeny production in supernatants from cells treated or not treated with Ginkgolic acid was quantified by plaque-forming assay. Ginkgolic acid’s direct virucidal activity against these arboviruses was also determined. Additionally, viral protein expression was assessed using Western blot and immunofluorescence. Our results reveal that Ginkgolic acid promotes a dose-dependent decrease in viral titers in all tested viruses. Moreover, the compound demonstrated strong virucidal activity. Finally, we found that viral protein expression was affected by treatment with this drug. Collectively, these findings suggest that Ginkgolic acid could have broader antiviral activity.