Research articles
ScienceAsia 52 (2026): 1-9 |doi:
10.2306/scienceasia1513-1874.2026.030
The anti-hepatitis B virus efficacy of Gymnema sylvestre and
Hemidesmus indicus: Cell culture and HPLC validations
Sakina Niyazia, Mohammad K. Parvezb,*, Tanzeel Ahmeda,*, Shama Parveenc, Mohammed S. Al-Dosarib,
Rashed N. Herqashb, Abdullah R. Alanzib, Ghanshyam P. Sinhad
ABSTRACT: Despite the availability of effective antiviral therapeutics, drug resistance in HBV still remains a clinical
challenge. Nonetheless, a wide range of anti-HBV natural products comprising plant preparations or isolated
compounds have been identified. Of these, some of the globally used herbal products have been reported to
cause serious adverse effects, or hepatotoxicity. Here, we pre-tested the non-hepatotoxicity (dimethylthiazolyl
diphenyltetrazolium bromide; MTTassay)ofGymnemasylvestre(GM)andHemidesmusindicus(HI)totalethanolextract
(Ext) and fractions (hexane: Hex, chloroform: Chl, ethyl acetate: EtAc, and ethanol: EtOH) in HepG2 cells before their
anti-HBV assessment (HBV surface antigen/HBsAg and precore antigen/HBeAg ELISA) in HepG2.2.15 cells. Because
all GM and HI preparations showed no sign of liver toxicity at the maximal dose (200 ?g/ml), the 50 ?g/ml dose was
selected as the optimal inhibitory dose for testing time-course HBV activities. Of the tested preparations, GM-EtOH
(HBsAg ?41.8%, HBeAg ?40%) and HI-EtOH (HBsAg ?39.6%, HBeAg ?38%) showed moderate activities, whereas
GM-Hex(HBsAg?54.3%, HBeAg?52%),HI-Hex(HBsAg?50.2%, HBeAg?48.7%), GM-Chl(HBsAg?47.2%, HBeAg
?45.7%), and HI-Chl (HBsAg ?48.8%, HBeAg ?46.8%) exhibited high activities on day 5. Further quantitative RP
HPLC analysis identified known anti-HBV flavanols and polyphenols in GM/HI extract (rutin: 48.28, 29.07; quercetin:
36.36, 16.35; kaempferol: 3.65, 6.50; caffeic acid: 56.59, 64.13; and chlorogenic acid: 8.36, 22.62 ?g/10 mg),
attributed to their anti-HBV activities. Our data, therefore, convincingly and strongly warrant preclinical or clinical
studies of the anti-HBV therapeutic potential of G. sylvestre and H. indicus.
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| a |
School of Biotechnology, IFTM University, Moradabad 244102 India |
| b |
Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 Saudi Arabia |
| c |
Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Basic Sciences, Jamila Millia Islamia Central University,
New Delhi 110025 India |
| d |
Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 USA |
* Corresponding author, E-mail: mohkhalid@ksu.edu.sa, ahmed.tanzeel@gmail.com
Received 9 Sep 2025, Accepted 4 Mar 2026
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