Background: Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea disease in newborns and young children worldwide, estimated to be responsible for over 300,000 childhood deaths every year, mostly in developing countries. Rotavirus-related deaths represent approximately 5% of all deaths in children younger than 5 years of age worldwide. Saponins are readily soluble in water and are approved by the US FDA for inclusion in beverages intended for human consumption. The addition of saponins to existing water supplies offers a new form of intervention into the cycle of rotavirus infection. We believe that saponins will 'coat' the epithelium of the host's small intestine and prevent attachment of rotavirus.
Discussion: This experiment provides in vitro data for the possibility of including saponin in drinking water to prevent infections of rotavirus. We demonstrate that microgram amounts of extract, while exhibiting no cell cytotoxicity or direct virucidal activity, prevent rotavirus from infecting its host cells. In addition, the presence of residual amounts of extract continue to block viral infection and render cells resistant to infection for at least 16 h after the removal of the extract from the cell culture media.
Conclusion: We demonstrate that two Quillaja extracts possess strong antiviral activity at concentrations more than 1000-fold lower than concentrations exhibiting cell cytotoxicity. Extract concentrations as high as 1000 μg/ml are not cytotoxic, but concentrations as low as 1.0 μg/ml are able to block rotavirus and reovirus attachment and infection.