Compositions comprising siraitia grosvenori extracts and methods for the treatment of infection

Abstract

A method for the treatment and / or prophylaxis of a viral infection in a subject is provided wherein the method comprises the steps of providing a therapeutically effective amount of a composition comprising an extract of the fruit of Siraitia grosvenori Swingle and administering the composition to the subject. The fruit from which the extract is derived is Luo Han Guo. The extract comprises at least one thterpene glycoside, which may be in the form of a mogroside compound. The extract has been shown to be effective in the treatment of viral infections such as hepatitis C and HIV. Also provided are pharmaceutical compositions comprising at least one thterpene glycoside, or an analogue, metabolite, precursor, derivative, pharmaceutically active salt or pro-drug thereof.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to methods for the prophylaxis and / or treatment of viral infections, such as hepatitis C and HIV. The invention further relates to compositions for use in the treatment and / or prophylaxis of viral infections.BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION[0002]Luo Han Guo (also known as Luo Han Kuo) is a fruit of the Siraitia grosvenori Swingle (formerly Momoridca grosvenori Swingle) belonging to the Cucurbitaceae species. These fruits are cultivated in parts of China and extract of the Luo Han Guo plant is currently manufactured and marketed as a natural low-calorie sweetener, for example, PURELO™. U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,755 describes a process for preparing a sweet juice from Luo Han Guo fruit. The sweetness of the extract from Luo Han Guo is due to the presence of highly stable triterpene glycosides, known as mogrosides, which are about 250 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose. These compounds possess a triterpene backbone with two to six glucose u...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Chronic hepatitis C virus is an insidious and slow-progressing disease having a significant negative impact on the quality of life.

It can eventually result in cirrhosis of the liver, decompensated liver disease and / or hepatocellular carcinoma.

Alpha interferon mono-therapy is commonly used to treat infection with chronic hepatitis C. However, this treatment is not always effective and sometimes results in intolerable side effects depending on the dosage and the duration of therapy.

However, this mono-therapy treatment has been found to be relatively ineffective and, furthermore, presents its own undesirable side effects.

However, the combined use of alpha interferon and Ribavirin does not eradicate HCV-RNA in a long-term, effective manner.

This causes the infected cells to function improperly and die prematurely, thus weakening the immune system.

HIV infection results in disturbances of the entire immune defense mechanism.

This HIV-induced T4 reduction results in the development of frequent and eventually fatal opportunistic infections caused by pathogenic organisms such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa or fungi.

However, their side effects are often so severe that treatment must be halted allowing HIV resistant strains to quickly develop.

These drugs ultimately slow down the replication of viral DNA.

However, they do not rid the body of the virus but merely act to slow down and reduce the severity of the development of the infection.

Many of the anti-viral therapies which are currently available are directed towards targeting viral components and are therefore prone to compensatory viral evasion mechanisms.

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