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. 2023 Dec 30;22(1):30.
doi: 10.3390/md22010030.

Prospective Antiviral Effect of Ulva lactuca Aqueous Extract against COVID-19 Infection

Reem Binsuwaidan  1 , Thanaa A El-Masry  2 , Mostafa El-Sheekh  3 , Mohamed G Seadawy  4 , Mofida E M Makhlof  5 , Shaimaa M Aboukhatwa  6 , Nagla A El-Shitany  2 , Kadreya E Elmorshedy  7 , Maysa M F El-Nagar  2 , Maisra M El-Bouseary  8
Affiliations

Prospective Antiviral Effect of Ulva lactuca Aqueous Extract against COVID-19 Infection

Reem Binsuwaidan et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

Marine algal extracts exhibit a potent inhibitory effect against several enveloped and non-enveloped viruses. The infection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has several adverse effects, including an increased mortality rate. The anti-COVID-19 agents are still limited; this issue requires exploring novel, effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic approaches. This study investigated the antiviral activity of an aqueous extract of Ulva lactuca, which was collected from the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. The aqueous extract of Ulva lactuca was characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyses. According to the HPLC analysis, the extract comprises several sugars, mostly rhamnose (32.88%). The FTIR spectra showed numerous bands related to the functional groups. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of different elements, such as oxygen (O), carbon (C), sulfur (S), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and sodium (Na), with different concentrations. The aqueous extract of U. lactuca (0.0312 mg/mL) exhibited potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity via virucidal activity, inhibition of viral replication, and interference with viral adsorption (% inhibitions of 64%, 33.3%, and 31.1%, respectively). Consequently, ulvan could be a promising compound for preclinical study in the drug development process to combat SARS-CoV-2.

Keywords: Egypt; Ulva lactuca; anti-SARS-CoV-2; antiviral; ulvan.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effect of different extraction conditions on the collected extract of Ulva lactuca. (A) Periods, (B) Temperatures, and (C) Water volumes for each 1 g of algal powder.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ulva lactuca aqueous extract characterization; (A) HPLC Chromatograph; (B) infrared spectra between 400 and 4000 cm−1; (C) the XRD pattern; and (D) EDX data.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ulva lactuca aqueous extract characterization; (A) HPLC Chromatograph; (B) infrared spectra between 400 and 4000 cm−1; (C) the XRD pattern; and (D) EDX data.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ulva lactuca aqueous extract characterization; (A) HPLC Chromatograph; (B) infrared spectra between 400 and 4000 cm−1; (C) the XRD pattern; and (D) EDX data.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs of the extracted ulvan with different fields showing different crystals’ shapes (A,B).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The cytotoxicity of U. lactuca aqueous extract on Vero-E6 cells using MTT assay.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Plaque Reduction Assay results. The experiment was performed in three independent replicates. Data were represented as mean ± SD. ANOVA test followed by a Tukey–Kramer post hoc test, which showed a significant difference among means. The asterisk indicated significant differences of p < 0.001. The letters above the bars denote the significant difference across the investigated groups: a = 0 mg/mL, b = 0.0312 mg/mL, c = 0.0156 mg/mL, d = 0.0078 mg/mL, and e = 0.0039 mg/mL.
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