Herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) are neurotropic viruses with broad host range whose infections cause considerable health problems in both animals and humans. In fact, 67% of the global population under the age of 50 are infected with HSV-1 and 13% have clinically recurrent HSV-2 infections. The most prescribed antiherpetics are nucleoside analogues such as acyclovir, but the emergence of mutants resistant to these drugs and the lack of available vaccines against human HSVs has led to an imminent need for new antivirals. Valproic acid (VPA) is a branched short-chain fatty acid clinically used as a broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug in the treatment of neurological disorders, which has shown promising antiviral activity against some herpesviruses. Moreover, its amidic derivatives valpromide and valnoctamide also share this antiherpetic activity. This review summarizes the current research on the use of VPA and its amidic derivatives as alternatives to traditional antiherpetics in the fight against HSV infections.

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丙戊酸及其酰胺衍生物作为新型抗阿尔法疱疹病毒

单纯疱疹病毒（HSV）是宿主范围广泛的嗜神经性病毒，其感染会给动物和人类造成严重的健康问题。实际上，全球50岁以下的人口中有67％感染了HSV-1，而13％的患者则是临床复发性HSV-2感染。处方最多的抗疱疹药是核苷类似物，例如阿昔洛韦，但是对这些药物有抗性的突变体的出现以及缺乏针对人类HSV的可用疫苗已经导致对新抗病毒剂的迫切需求。丙戊酸（VPA）是一种支链短链脂肪酸，在临床上被用作广谱抗癫痫药，用于治疗神经系统疾病，已显示出对某些疱疹病毒的抗病毒活性。此外，其酰胺衍生物丙戊酰胺和丙戊酰胺也具有这种抗疱疹活性。