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Researchers have discovered a possible new and inexpensive tool to fight hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection: quercetin, a natural flavonoid.
The substance is sold as an herbal supplement and is found in many plants and foods, including red wine, onions, green tea, apples, and berries.
A study describing research conducted by Angela Rojas of UCM Digestive Diseases, Virgen Macarena-Virgen del Rocio University Hospitals in Seville, Spain, and colleagues was published on the website Nature recently.
The researchers note that although direct acting antivirals (DAAs) have improved the sustained viral response (SVR) rates dramatically, “price is still one of the major barriers to achieve hepatitis C eradication mainly in low- and middle-income countries.” Quercetin has been shown to inhibit diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) activity, which the researchers say is “an enzyme involved in the assembly step of the HCV life cycle.”
Additionally, quercetin “is widely available, cheap, and has been previously demonstrated antiviral activity against HCV,” say the researchers, adding, “The main aims of this study were to further elucidate at which steps of the virus life cycle and by which mechanisms quercetin exerts anti-HCV activity.”
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