The Detrimental Effects of Garlic Extracts on Herpes Keratitis

Herpes Keratitis, a leading cause of blindness in the United States, is caused by Herpes Simplex Virus type 1 (HSV-1) and has been widely studied around the world. However, even as medicine and technology have advanced throughout the years, there is still no evidence of a cure being found for this disease. The main focus of this research was to extract potential antiviral agents from both single clove and regular garlic to determine if the effects on HSV-1 were detrimental. A variety of methods were used to isolate and purify alkaloids found in the garlics. Both acidic and basic alkaloids from the garlics were isolated, and it appears that the acidic alkaloids obtained from the two different garlics are the same compounds. However, based on Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) analyses, it appears that the basic alkaloids obtained from the single clove garlic are different from those obtained from the regular garlic. African Green monkey kidney cells (Vero cells) were used for antiviral efficacy studies. Extracts obtained from the single clove garlic appear to be detrimental to HSV-1. Based on the results obtained, there is strong evidence to suggest that the alkaloids extracted from the single clove garlic are detrimental to HSV-1, as has been reported previously. Further studies will include isolating the components from the acid and base extractions and comparing their efficacies on the virus. Finally, the compounds will be characterized using a variety of analytical techniques.