Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV) is one of the main pathogens that causes high mortality and substantial economic losses in the grouper aquaculture industry. Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound extracted from the traditional Chinese medicinal material, turmeric. In this study, we investigated the antiviral properties of curcumin against SGIV based on quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blotting, and viral titer assessment with in vitro models, and found that different concentrations of curcumin inhibited SGIV infection. Furthermore, curcumin significantly impaired attachment of the virion. Moreover, the qRT-PCR results showed that cellular immune and inflammatory responses related to the NF-κB signaling pathway were regulated by curcumin. Examinations of the expression of antioxidant enzymes indicated that the antioxidant capacity played a critical role in preventing SGIV infection, which may depend on the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway. Importantly, curcumin also had a strong antiviral activity in vivo according to the increased survival rates of groupers and inhibition of SGIV gene expression. This study demonstrated that curcumin could inhibit SGIV infection both in vitro through multiple antiviral mechanisms and reduce the mortality of SGIV-infected groupers in vivo. Overall, our findings show that SGIV is sensitive to curcumin and its antiviral activity makes it a potential candidate drug for treating SGIV infection.

新加坡石斑鱼虹彩病毒（SGIV）是导致石斑鱼养殖业高死亡率和重大经济损失的主要病原体之一。姜黄素是从中药材姜黄中提取的多酚类化合物。在这项研究中，我们基于定量实时 PCR (qRT-PCR)、蛋白质印迹和体外病毒滴度评估研​​究了姜黄素对 SGIV 的抗病毒特性模型，并发现不同浓度的姜黄素抑制 SGIV 感染。此外，姜黄素显着损害病毒粒子的附着。此外，qRT-PCR 结果表明，与 NF-κB 信号通路相关的细胞免疫和炎症反应受姜黄素的调节。抗氧化酶表达检测表明，抗氧化能力在预防SGIV感染中起关键作用，这可能依赖于Nrf2/Keap1信号通路。重要的是，根据石斑鱼存活率的提高和对 SGIV 基因表达的抑制，姜黄素在体内也具有很强的抗病毒活性。该研究表明姜黄素可以在体外抑制 SGIV 感染通过多种抗病毒机制，降低感染SGIV的石斑鱼的体内死亡率。总体而言，我们的研究结果表明，SGIV 对姜黄素敏感，其抗病毒活性使其成为治疗 SGIV 感染的潜在候选药物。