WO1996009833A1

WO1996009833A1 - Treatment of viral infections

Info

Publication number: WO1996009833A1
Application number: PCT/GB1995/002280
Authority: WO
Inventors: Joan Louise Hibberd
Original assignee: Joan Louise Hibberd
Priority date: 1994-09-29
Filing date: 1995-09-25
Publication date: 1996-04-04
Also published as: GB9419692D0; GB2293548A; AU3530395A

Abstract

Tea is used topically to treat Herpes viral infections. The tea can be in the form of an infusion, which may be concentrated and used as a concentrate or dried to provide a powder. Other forms of tea can be used such as fresh, dried and processed leaves.

Description

TREATMENT OF VIRAL INFECTIONS

The present invention relates to the treatment of viral infections caused by Herpes viruses, especially Herpes simplex (HSV) , which causes "cold sores" and genital herpes; Herpes Varicella-zoster. which causes shingles; and human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) . In particular, the invention provides the topical treatment of Herpes virus infections with tea.

A compound known to be useful in the treatment of Herpes simplex lesions of the skin, eye and external genitalia is Idoxuridine. A 5% by weight solution of Idoxuridine in dimethyl sulfoxide is used to treat Herpes simplex infections of the skin. The virus responds well to frequent (four times daily) applications if started early and continued for three to four days. However, if treatment is delayed for seven days then it is less effective. Idoxuridine may be used to treat Herpes simplex infections of the eye. A 0.1% by weight solution or a 0.5% by weight ointment is used. Idoxuridine may also be used to treat shingles, but a 40% by weight solution in dimethyl sulfoxide is required.

Idoxuridine has unpleasant side effects such as stinging on application and an effect on the patient's sense of taste. Excessive use of Idoxuridine may cause maceration of the skin. Idoxuridine is toxic when taken internally.

Another compound known to be useful in the treatment of Herpes simplex and Herpes zoster infections is vidarabine. Vidarabine is taken intravenously over at least a five day period. Undesirable side effects include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea; ataxia, dizziness, confusion; decreased haematocrit, white cell count and platelet count.

Acyclovir is a compound known to be useful in the treatment of Herpes simplex infections. Acyclovir is taken orally, topically or intravenously. Undesirable side effects include rashes, reversible increases in plasma, urea, creatinine and liver-related enzymes, decreases in haematological indices and neurological reactions.

The above compounds and compositions known to be effective for treating Herpes simplex and Herpes zoster infections are relatively costly to produce and have undesirable side effects.

Traditional and less effective treatments for cold sores include a mixture of lignocaine and nitromersol; a cream comprising menthol and camphor; a lotion comprising menthol, camphor and benzoin; a lotion comprising menthol, myrrh, benzoin, camphor and alcohol; a lotion comprising povidone- iodine; an ointment comprising diperodon, camphor, zinc oxide, allantoin; a paint comprising povidone-iodine and menthol and tablets comprising L-lysine and zinc oxide.

There have been a number of reports that tea has antiviral activity.

John et al (Curr. Sci. 47, 1978, 159-160) discloses testing tea to assess its in vitro antiviral activity against coxsackievirus types Bl & B2, echovirus types 7 & 11, and poliovirus types 1 - 3. It is stated that undiluted tea extract is toxic to the cell cultures used (bonnet monkey kidney cells) but that 0.1 cm³ of 1:2 dilution in cell culture maintenance medium was not toxic to cells in tubes containing 1 cm³ maintenance medium.

John et al (Indian J. Med. Res. 1979, 69/4, 542-545) discloses testing tea to assess its in vitro antiviral activity against coxsackievirus types Bl - B6 and A9, echovirus type 9, herpes simplex, poliovirus type 3, reovirus type 1, vaccinia and mumps. The viruses were incubated with equal volumes of a 1:2 dilution of tea extract and cell culture medium and inoculated into tubes of primary bonnet monkey kidney cell culture.

It appears from a search of Index Medicus that there were no subsequent papers by John et al concerning the antiviral activity of tea. There is no indication in John et al which would have led those skilled in the art to consider the topical use of tea to exploit the reported antiviral activity.

Konowalchuk et al (Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 35(6), 1978, 1219-1220) discloses the antiviral effect of orally administered tea on poliovirus type 1.

EP-A-0417385 (March 1991) discloses the use of tea administered orally or as a gargle to treat influenza virus.

Zhang et al (Virological Sinica 8(2), 1993, 151-153) discloses that orally administered tea has anti-rotavirus activity.

JP-A-5153941 (June 1993) discloses the use of fermented mulberry tea administered orally for the treatment of influenza, high blood pressure and diabetes.

JP-A-6056687 (March 1994) discloses the use of a green tea extract administered orally to treat infectious diarrhoea.

CN-A-1084018 (March 1994) discloses the use of a tea- containing composition administered orally to treat smoking addiction.

JP-A-6122626 (May 1994) discloses to the use of tea polyphenols administered orally to inhibit the proliferation of mesangial cells involved in glomerular nephritis or diabetic nephropathy. The polyphenols appear to be substantially the same as those disclosed in EP-A-0417385.

It has now surprisingly been found that Herpes virus infections can be treated effectively and inexpensively using tea topically.

Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides the use of tea in the manufacture of a medicament for the topical treatment of Herpes viral infections.

In a second aspect, the invention provides tea for use in the topical treatment of Herpes viral infections.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of treating Herpes viral infections in a patient comprising topically applying to the patient an anti-viral effective amount of tea.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a topical composition for the treatment of Herpes viral infections comprising tea and. a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle other than a simple aqueous infusion. Suitably, the vehicle is a cream, ointment, lotion, paste, dusting-powder, application, collodion, liniment or paint.

The term "tea", for the purpose of the present invention, encompasses fresh, dried and processed plant material, particularly the leaves and young shoots, obtained from plants of the genus Camelia more particularly Camelia sinensis. The tea may be green tea which is unprocessed or black tea which has undergone a so-called "fermentation" process. The tea may also be a partially "fermented" tea such as that known as Oolong tea.

The tea may be in the form of an extract, preferably an aqueous extract made using hot or boiling water, and can be formulated as a spray. Alternatively, the tea may be dry and in the form of a powder. Also, the tea may simply be the fresh, dried or processed leaves of tea dampened with water or remaining after extraction with water. The tea may be extracted with solvents other than water, for example an organic solvent such as alcohol. The solvent may be evaporated off and the extract residue dissolved in another solvent such as water before use. An infusion of tea may be concentrated by evaporation to provide a concentrated solution. Dry tea leaves themselves, whether before or after aqueous extraction may be ground to form a powder for application to the skin. If a powder is used then other powder materials such as talc or zinc oxide may be used as carriers for the tea powder.

The tea also may be in the form of a tea bag either before, during or after extraction with water, preferably with hot or boiling water. The inventor has found that a damp tea bag pressed against an area of Herpes virus infection of the skin or squeezed to release a concentrated solution of tea on to the affected area is particularly effective.

Preferably, the tea includes bergamot oil added thereto, especially an Earl Grey tea, but other teas also are efficacious.

The tea preferably includes one or more of the variety of phenolic compounds found in tea and referred to as

"tannin". However, the identity of the component or components providing the antiviral activity presently is unknown.

Tea may be administered topically in a variety of ways depending on the nature and extent of the infection. An extract or concentrate of tea may be applied to the skin and allowed to dry. Alternatively, the extract or concentrate can be applied as an aerosol. When a concentrate is used, this may be applied as a paint to the affected areas. Tea in the form of a powder may be dusted onto the affected areas. Tea may be combined with a cream or an ointment for direct application to the skin.

The amount and concentration of tea used will vary depending upon the nature of the nature and extent of the infection, the type of tea and the identity of the vehicle used. However, the determination of the most efficacious amounts for a given patient and formulation can be determined by simple trial and error procedure.

The invention will now be described by way of the following examples:-

EXAMPLE 1 - Preparation of tea infusion.

An infusion of an Earl Grey tea of conventional beverage strength was made by placing a commercially available "Twinings" brand tea bag of Earl Grey tea into a tea cup and then filling the cup with boiling water. The tea bag was allowed to stand in the water for 2 to 4 minutes with occasional stirring. The tea bag was then removed and the resulting infusion used as quickly as possible. In some preparations the infusion was allowed to cool to room temperature before use.

EXAMPLE 2 - Use of tea infusion squeezed from the tea bag to treat Herpes simplex lesions.

A female patient aged 63 suffering from lesions spreading over an area of about 6 cm in diameter caused by Herpes simplex infection was treated using the tea bag resulting from the preparation of the infusion as described in Example 1. The tea bag was squeezed so that a concentrated extract of tea was expelled. Extract was squeezed directly on to the affected areas of the patient's skin. The tea bag itself was rested against the affected areas for 1 to 2 minutes. Afterwards, any tea extract on the skin was allowed to dry naturally. The above tea bag treatment was repeated four or five times daily over a five day period. A freshly prepared tea bag in accordance with Example 1 was used on each occasion. At first the lesions were inflamed and painful, but the pain was relieved within 18 hours after the start of treatment and the infection did not spread further. Within four to five days the lesions crusted over and many resolved themselves. Alleviation of symptoms occurred within three and a half to four days. The lesions did not recur for some months after the above treatment was discontinued.

The lesions of the patient referred to in Example 2 had previously recurred two or three times a year. However, when the lesions recurred after the tea bag treatment they were noted clinically to be less severe and less extensive than before.

EXAMPLE 3 - Use of black tea to treat Herpes simplex lesions

An infusion of tea was made as described in Example 1 except that a commercially available tea bag containing black tea was used instead of Earl Grey. The infusion was allowed to cool and was then applied to the infected area of the patient in Example 2 when suffering from a recurrence of the Herpes simplex infection. The infusion was applied by dabbing it on to the skin with cotton wool. The liquid on the skin was allowed to dry in air. The infusion was retained and then similar applications were made to the affected area four or five times daily. After five days of treatment the infection was cured.

In the above treatment, it was noticed that the pain relief obtained was not so dramatic as in the treatment of Example 2. EXAMPLE 4 - Use of Earl Grev tea infusion to treat Herpes simplex lesions

The infusion of Example 1 was allowed to cool and then applied to the skin of the patient of Example 2 suffering from a recurrence of the Herpes simplex infection. The application was made by dabbing the liquid on to the skin with cotton wool and allowing the liquid to dry. The infusion used in this example was used to make further applications four or five times daily. After five days of treatment the symptoms of the disease disappeared. Also, the lesions which crusted over resolved themselves.

Claims

1. The use of tea in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of Herpes viral infections.

2. A use as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the tea is green tea.

3. A use as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the tea is black tea or a partially fermented tea.

4. A use as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the tea is in the form of an aqueous extract.

5. A use as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the tea includes bergamot oil.

6. A use as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the Herpes virus is Herpes simplex or Herpes zoster.

7. Tea for use in the topical treatment of Herpes viral infections.

8. A method of treating Herpes viral infections in a patient comprising topically applying to the patient an anti-viral effective amount of tea.

9. A topical composition for the treatment of Herpes viral infections comprising tea in a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle other than a simple aqueous infusion.