Zika virus (ZIKV) is a public health problem due to its association with serious fetal and neurological complications and the lack of antiviral agents and licensed vaccines against this virus. Surveillance studies have alerted about the potential occurrence of a new South American epidemic episode due to the recent circulation of an African ZIKV strain detected in Brazil. Therefore, it is essential to discover antiviral agents, including natural substances, that are capable of neutralizing the action of ZIKV. Several Psychotria species have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Thus, a methanol extract and dimethyltryptamine from Psychotria viridis were evaluated for their ability to inhibit ZIKV infection in vitro by measuring the effective concentration that protects 50% of cells and investigating their possible mechanisms of action. The tested samples showed antiviral activity against ZIKV. The extract showed virucidal activity, affecting viral and non-cellular elements, inactivating the virus before infection or when it becomes extracellular after the second cycle of infection. It was also observed that both extract and dimethyltryptamine could inhibit the virus at intracellular stages of the viral cycle. In addition to dimethyltryptamine, it is believed that other compounds also contribute to the promising virucidal effect observed for the methanol extract. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the activity of a methanolic extract and dimethyltryptamine from Psychotria viridis against cellular ZIKV infection. These two samples, extracted from natural sources, are potential candidates for use as antiviral drugs to inhibit ZIKV infections.

中文翻译：

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来自绿色精神病的甲醇提取物和 N,N-二甲基色胺 Ruiz & Pav。体外抑制寨卡病毒感染。

寨卡病毒 (ZIKV) 是一个公共卫生问题，因为它与严重的胎儿和神经系统并发症有关，并且缺乏抗病毒药物和针对这种病毒的许可疫苗。由于最近在巴西检测到的非洲 ZIKV 毒株的传播，监测研究已经警告可能发生新的南美流行病。因此，必须发现能够中和 ZIKV 作用的抗病毒剂，包括天然物质。几种 Psychotria 物种具有抗菌和抗炎特性。因此，通过测量保护 50% 细胞的有效浓度并研究它们可能的作用机制，评估了来自绿色精神病的甲醇提取物和二甲基色胺在体外抑制 ZIKV 感染的能力。测试样品显示出对 ZIKV 的抗病毒活性。该提取物显示出杀病毒活性，影响病毒和非细胞成分，在感染前或在第二个感染周期后病毒进入细胞外时使病毒失活。还观察到提取物和二甲基色胺都可以在病毒周期的细胞内阶段抑制病毒。除了二甲基色胺之外，据信其他化合物也有助于对甲醇提取物观察到的有希望的杀病毒效果。据我们所知，这是第一份关于来自绿色精神病的甲醇提取物和二甲基色胺对细胞 ZIKV 感染的活性的报告。这两个从天然来源中提取的样本是用作抑制 ZIKV 感染的抗病毒药物的潜在候选者。