Inhibitory effect on acute herpes and prevention of postherpetic neuralgia inherpes simplex virus-1-infected mice using a plant extract Ricinus communis

The present study aimed to examine the impact of Ricinus communis and valacyclovir (VACV) on the progression of skin lesions and pain responses in mice infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). Mice were infected with HSV-1 and treated with R. communis (8, 16, or 48 mg/kg) or VACV (8, 25, or 90 mg/kg) twice daily on days 2-8 post-infection. Skin lesion development and pain-associated reactions were assessed 27 days after infection. HSV-1 infection results in zosteriform skin lesions and increased pain-related scores. Both R. communis and VACV demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in skin lesions and pain-related ratings. The investigation also assessed the impact of the timing of R. communis and VACV administration on skin lesions and pain responses and found that lesion scores were significantly reduced when R. communis treatment was initiated on day 2 post-infection. Additionally, the inhibitory effects of R. communis and VACV on HSV-1 dissemination in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were studied. They showed a significant reduction in HSV-1 DNA replication number after the administration of both drugs. This study aimed to investigate the impact of R. communis and VACV on the expressed mRNA levels of pain-associated factors in the spinal cord of HSV-1-infected mice. The findings of this study demonstrated that R. communis therapy exhibited an inhibitory effect on pain-related factors. Overall, these findings suggest R. communis may have the potential to serve as a therapeutic agent for managing skin damage and pain-related responses caused by HSV-1.