Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Mar 6;12(3):416.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens12030416.

Preventing Persistence of HPV Infection with Natural Molecules

Antonio Simone Laganà  1 , Vito Chiantera  1 , Sandro Gerli  2   3 , Sara Proietti  4 , Elisa Lepore  4 , Vittorio Unfer  5 , Jose Carugno  6 , Alessandro Favilli  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Preventing Persistence of HPV Infection with Natural Molecules

Antonio Simone Laganà et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one the most common sexually transmitted infections worldwide. In most cases, the infection is temporary and asymptomatic; however, when persistent, it may lead to lesions that can evolve into cancer in both women and men. Nowadays, prophylactic vaccination is the primary preventive strategy for HPV infections, but vaccines do not cover all types of HPV strains. Scientific research has uncovered the beneficial role of some natural supplements in preventing persistent HPV infections or treating HPV-related lesions. We review the current insight into the roles of natural molecules in HPV infection with a special focus on epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), folic acid, vitamin B12, and hyaluronic acid (HA). Specifically, EGCG from green tea extracts plays a critical role in suppressing HPV oncogenes and oncoproteins (E6/E7), which are responsible for HPV oncogenic activity and cancer development. Folic acid and vitamin B12 are essential vitamins for multiple functions in the body, and accumulating evidence suggests their importance in maintaining a high degree of methylation of the HPV genome, thus decreasing the likelihood of causing malignant lesions. HA, due to its re-epithelizing property, may prevent HPV virus entry in damaged mucosa and epithelia. Thereby, based on these premises, the combination of EGCG, folic acid, vitamin B12, and HA may be a very promising therapeutic approach to prevent HPV persistence.

Keywords: EGCG; HA; HPV infection; folic acid; persistence; vitamin B12.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

S.P., E.L. and V.U. are employed at Lo.Li. Pharma SRL. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The synergic effect of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), folic acid (FA), vitamin B12 (B12), and hyaluronic acid (HA) in preventing HPV persistence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Kombe Kombe A.J., Li B., Zahid A., Mengist H.M., Bounda G.-A., Zhou Y., Jin T. Epidemiology and Burden of Human Papillomavirus and Related Diseases, Molecular Pathogenesis, and Vaccine Evaluation. Front. Public Health. 2020;8:552028. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.552028. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chesson H.W., Dunne E.F., Hariri S., Markowitz L.E. The Estimated Lifetime Probability of Acquiring Human Papillomavirus in the United States. Sex. Transm. Dis. 2014;41:660–664. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000193. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Egawa N., Egawa K., Griffin H., Doorbar J. Human Papillomaviruses; Epithelial Tropisms, and the Development of Neoplasia. Viruses. 2015;7:3863–3890. doi: 10.3390/v7072802. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van Doorslaer K. Revisiting Papillomavirus Taxonomy: A Proposal for Updating the Current Classification in Line with Evolutionary Evidence. Viruses. 2022;14:2308. doi: 10.3390/v14102308. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Garutti P., Montori S., Bazzan E., Tarabbia C. Gender differences in the epidemiology and prevention of human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV-related diseases. Ital. J. Gend.-Specif. Med. 2018;4:152–161.

LinkOut - more resources