Zika Virus (ZIKV), an arbovirus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family, has become a global concern since its outbreak in the Americas in 2015. With symptoms similar to other Flavivirus as Dengue and Yellow Fever viruses, infections by ZIKV have also been related to several neurological complications such as microcephaly in newborns and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Considering the high prevalence of ZIKV infection in certain areas, the risks that the virus poses to fetal brain development, and the fact that there is no vaccine or specific prophylaxis available, an effective treatment capable of preventing the infection is of potential interest. Therefore, in the present investigation, the antiviral activity on ZIKV of a group of xanthenodiones and intermediate ketones involved in their synthesis was evaluated for the first time. It was found that the compound 2-(2,6-dichlorobenzylidene)cyclohexane-1,3-dione 27 was able to completely inhibit the viral infection of Vero cells as well as to significantly reduce viral load in the brains of newborn Swiss mice. These effects are related to a direct interaction of the compound with the viral particle, blocking the viral adsorption.

自2015年在美洲爆发以来，寨卡病毒（ZIKV）是黄病毒科的一种虫媒病毒，已成为全球关注的问题。其症状与其他黄病毒类似作为登革热和黄热病病毒，ZIKV的感染还与多种神经系统并发症有关，例如新生儿小头畸形和格林巴利综合征。考虑到在某些地区ZIKV感染的高流行，病毒对胎儿脑部发育的风险以及没有可用的疫苗或特定的预防措施这一事实，能够预防这种感染的有效治疗方法具有潜在的意义。因此，在本研究中，首次评估了参与合成的一组黄酮二酮和中间酮对ZIKV的抗病毒活性。发现化合物2-（2,6-二氯亚苄基）环己烷-1,3-二酮27能够完全抑制Vero细胞的病毒感染，并显着降低新生瑞士小鼠大脑中的病毒载量。这些作用与化合物与病毒颗粒的直接相互作用有关，从而阻止了病毒的吸附。