Abstract
Viruses significantly impact global health because they are the leading cause of death
everywhere they are found. Despite the rapid development of human healthcare, more effective
viricidal or antiviral therapies must be developed. The need to find safe, novel, and effective alternatives
against viral diseases is heightened by the rapid emergence of resistance to, and the high
cost of, synthetic antiviral drug(s). The development of novel multi-target antiviral compounds that
affect multiple steps of the viral life cycle and host proteins has benefited tremendously from looking
to nature for guidance and inspiration. Hundreds of natural molecules are preferred over synthetic
drugs because of concerns regarding efficacy and safety and a high resistance rate to conventional
therapies. In addition, naturally occurring antiviral agents have demonstrated reasonable
antiviral value in both animal and human studies. Therefore, finding new antiviral drugs is crucial,
and natural products provide an excellent opportunity. This brief review examines the evidence of
antiviral effects exhibited by various plants and herbs.
Graphical Abstract
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