Study on the inhibitory effects of Astragalus membranaceus,zinc gluconate and their composition on influenza viruses H_3N_3 in vitro and vivo

OBJECTIVE To study the inhibitory effects of Astragalus membranaceus,zinc gluconate and their composition on influenza viruses in vitro and vivo.METHODS With ribavirin as a positive control,the cytopathogenic effect and optical density(OD)of human embryo epithelium were observed after infected by influenza viruses based on cell culture technique and MTT,then viral inhibitory percentage of all groups was evaluated.At the same time,their protective effects on virus infection in mice were investigated.RESULTS Astragalus membranaceus,zinc gluconate and their composition played good roles in the prevention,treatment of virus infection.Especially in the treatment,the compound preparation had more advantages than others.Preliminary tests in vivo showed that Astragalus membranaceus,zinc gluconate and their composition had a certain protective effect on mice infected with influenza.Compared with Astragalus membranaceus,zinc gluconate used alone,their composition increased efficacy with significant difference(P0.05).CONCLUSION Astragalus membranaceus,zinc gluconate had good inhibitory effects on influenza viruses in vitro and in vivo.And their composition can reduce the toxicity and increase efficacy.