Ethanol extracts (AF-06, 07, and 08, 10 mg/kg) of Brazilian
propolis were administered orally to cutaneously herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1)-infected mice three times daily on days 0 to 6 after
infection to evaluate their efficacies against HSV-1
infection and significantly limited development of herpetic skin lesions. AF-07 and 08 significantly reduced virus titers in brain and/or skin on day 4 without toxicity, but AF-08 had no anti-HSV-1 activity in vitro. AF-06 and 08 significantly enhanced delayed-type
hypersensitivity (DTH) to inactivated HSV-1
antigen in infected mice. Oral AF-08-administration significantly augmented
interferon (IFN)-γ production by HSV-1
antigen from splenocytes of HSV-1-infected mice, while direct exposure of splenocytes of infected mice to AF-06 significantly elevated IFN-γ production in vitro. Thus, AF-08 might have components that are active in vivo even after
oral administration and those of AF-06 might be active only in vitro. Because DTH is a major host defense for intradermal HSV-1
infection, augmentation of DTH response by AF-06 or 08, directly or indirectly, respectively, may contribute to their efficacies against HSV-1
infection. In addition, AF-06 and 07 possibly contain anti-HSV-1 components contributing to their efficacies. Such
biological activities of Brazilian
propolis may be useful to analyze its pharmacological actions.