Dengue virus (DENV) is the most prevalent mosquito-borne viral pathogen and made the disease a major health concern worldwide. However, specific antiviral drugs against this arbovirose or vaccines are not yet available for treatment or prevention. Thus, here we aimed to study the antiviral activity of hydroethanolic extract, fraction ethyl acetate and subfractions of the leaves of Bauhinia holophylla (Fabaceae:Cercideae), a native plant of the Brazilian Cerrado, against DENV-2 by methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method in mammalian cells culture. As results, the hydroethanolic extract showed the most potent effect, with an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 3.2 μg mL-1 and selectivity index (SI) of 27.6, approximately 16-times higher anti-DENV-2 activity than of the ribavirin (IC50 52.8 μg mL-1). Our results showed in this study appointed that B. holophylla has a promising anti-dengue activity, which was associated mainly with the presence of flavonoids.
Keywords: Bauhinia holophylla; Dengue virus; antiviral activity; cytotoxicity; flavonoids.