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Antiviral Phytochemicals: An Overview

Rita Kapoor, Bhupender Sharma and Shamsher Singh Kanwar

The pandemic of viral diseases during recent years has forced the scientific community to investigate less toxic antiviral phytomolecules instead of using nucleic acid analogues, protease inhibitors or other toxic synthetic molecules as antiviral therapeutics. Plants and many of their secondary metabolites because of the healing properties have been in traditional use throughout the world since ancient times. They provide us diverse bioactive phytochemicals which play synergetic role in maintaining human health. The development of clinical products from phyto-pharmaceuticals is a trending approach to look for ecofriendly therapeutic molecules. More than 50% of drugs used in Western nations are derived from plants or their constituents. Many plants have significant antiviral properties too. Very little information is available about plants of antiviral significance. This article briefly reviews various phytochemicals/bioactive molecules which have been isolated from plants and possess antiviral constituents, their mode of action and potential applications in treating/preventing viral diseases.