Herpes simplex alternative therapies

, Associate Editor-In-Chief:

Overview
Certain dietary supplements and alternative remedies are believed beneficial in the treatment of herpes when used in conjunction with conventional antiviral therapy. However, there is currently insufficient scientific and clinical evidence to support the safe or effective use of these compounds to treat herpes in humans. .

Natural compounds
1) Aloe vera is available as cream or gel which makes an affected area heal faster, and may even prevent recurrences.

2) Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), has antiviral activity against HSV-2 in cell culture, and may reduce HSV symptoms in herpes infected people.  Carrageenans - linear sulphated polysaccharides extracted from red seaweeds - have been shown to have antiviral effects in HSV-infected cells and in mice. However, there is no evidence for efficacy of this compound in humans. There are conflicting reports about the effectiveness of extracts from the plant echinacea in treating herpes infections, suggesting a possible benefit for treating oral, but not genital, herpes.

3) Resveratrol, a compound naturally produced by plants and a component of red wine, prevents HSV replication in cultured cells and reduces cutaneous HSV lesion formation in mice although, used alone, it is not considered potent enough to be an effective treatment. 4) Extracts from garlic have shown antiviral activity against HSV in cell culture experiments, although the extremely high concentrations of the extracts required to produce an antiviral effect was also toxic to the cells.

5) The plant Prunella vulgaris, commonly known as "selfheal", also prevents expression of both type 1 and type 2 herpes in cultured cells.

6) Lactoferrin, a component of whey protein, has been shown to have a synergistic effect with acyclovir against HSV in vitro.

7) Lysine supplementation has been proposed for the prophylaxis and treatment of herpes simplex when used at high doses (exceeding 1000 mg per day) but not low doses.

8) Some dietary supplements have been suggested to positively treat herpes. These include vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin E, and zinc.   Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), commonly available as a food preservative, has been shown in cell culture and animal studies to inactivate  herpes virus.  However BHT has not been clinically tested and approved to treat herpes infections in humans.