Plant derived natural products as novel fusion inhibitors against Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)

Herpesvirus infection and spread can be specifically blocked by preventing the fusion between the virion and the host cell membrane. The core fusion machinery of HSV-1 consists of the glycoproteins gD, gH, gL and gB. While gD mediates the interaction with various host cell receptors, gB executes the fusion of viral with cellular membrane after activation by a reaction cascade between the glycoproteins.