INHIBITION OF COXACKIE VIRUS B3 IN MICE USING METHANOLIC EXTRACT OF CALLIANDRA HAEMATOCEPHALA

Coxsackie virus B3 (CVB3) represents current major threats to public health and considers as an important viral pathogen related to viral myocarditis. We determined the safety of methanolic extract of Calliandra haematocephala in non-infected mice then two safe doses were selected to be evaluated in infected mice with CVB3 by determining the morbidity, mortality, heart to body weight ratio (HW/BW), virus titers in heart tissue. The effect of the extract on the heart tissues and the activities LDH, AST, and CK enzymes in the mice infected with CVB3 were also determined. Our results recorded that the methanolic extract at 100 mg/kg body was safe dose in mice and didn’t shown significant changes in funtions or histological structures of liver and kindey in non-infected mice and therefore we used 100 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg to be evaluated in infected mice with CVB3. We observed that the methaolic extract of Calliandra haematocephala leaves at the two doses decreased the morbidity, mortality, HW/BW, virus titers, necrosis and mononuclear cell infiltration. The levels of LDH, AST, and CK enzymes were also reduced in the treated infected mice compared with those untreated infected mice. This result suggested that the methaolic extract of Calliandra haematocephala may represent a potential antiviral drug to treatment viral myocarditis