Brown macroalgae: Promising sources of bioactive products against human herpesviruses

Marine brown macroalgae have stood out as important sources of new bioactive products, such as antimicrobial, anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral drugs. This study aimed to review the literature on the applications of products derived from brown macroalgae as antiviral agents against human herpesviruses. To date, species of seven distinct orders of brown algae have been studied for this purpose, such as Fucales (19 species), Dictyotales (14 species), Ectocarpales (9 species), Laminariales (2 species), Scytothamnales (1 species), Sphacelariales (1 species) and Tilopteridales (1 species). The products evaluated in this review include extracts, fractions and isolated natural products, mainly terpenoids. Extracts, fractions and isolates of brown algae were evaluated against four viruses: simple herpesviruses types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein–Barr Virus (VEB), also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4). This review shows products derived from brown macroalgae as potential antiherpetic agents.