Abstract

NOVEL AYURVEDIC PULLING OIL WITH POTENT ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY

Amit Sirdesai, Naveen Sharma*, Prasun Bandyopadhyay, Ranjan Mitra and Kavita Nagar

Abstract

Herpes Simplex Virus (Type-1) (HSV-1) causes infection of the oral cavity. Herpes causes cold sores which are small painful blisters that can appear around the mouth, face, or nose. This disease could be life threatening in people who are immunocompromised. Standard treatment for HSV-1 includes taking antiviral oral medications, such as acyclovir, famciclovir and valacyclovir and over-the-counter creams such as docosanol. However, repeated use of these medications could result in development of resistant virus. Thus, there exists a need for a natural alternative based on herbs which can be helpful in avoiding the risk of developing drug resistance that exists with single-chemical agents. Oil Pulling is a method that uses oil-based mouthwashes and it generates antioxidants which can cause some abnormalities in the structure and function of proteins in the membranes of Vero cells or HSV-1 envelope, which consequently inhibit the binding and penetration of the virus into the cells. In accordance with the principles of Ayurveda, the test substance, Dabur pulling oil Mouthwash was formulated using oils from selected medicinal herbs. The anti-viral efficacy of the test substance was evaluated by Virucidal activity assay against 10TCID50 virus challenge dose of HSV-1 virus. It was found in the Virus neutralization study that Dabur Pulling Oil Mouthwash at a concentration of 0.1% (v/v) and after a contact time of 5 mins exhibited 3.00 Log reduction against HSV-1 virus challenge dose of 10TCID50 (Virus 3.71 TCID50). The study revealed that Dabur pulling oil Mouthwash reduced 99.9% of HSV-1 Enveloped Virus against untreated Virus control.

Keywords: Herpes simplex virus-1, HSV-1, anti-viral, oil pulling, Dabur Pulling Oil Mouthwash, ayurveda, natural alternative, herbal remedies, herbal mouthwash.