In recent years, many compounds having potent antiviral activity in cell culture have been detected and some of these compounds are currently undergoing either preclinical or clinical evaluation. Among these antiviral substances, naturally occurring sulfated polysaccharides and those from synthetic origin are noteworthy. Recently, several controversies over the molecular structures of sulfated polysaccharides, viral glycoproteins, and cell-surface receptors have been resolved, and many aspects of their antiviral activity have been elucidated. It has become clear that the antiviral properties of sulfated polysaccharides are not only a simple function of their charge density and chain length but also their detailed structural features. The in vivo efficacy of these compounds mostly corresponds to their ability to inhibit the attachment of the virion to the host cell surface although in some cases virucidal activity plays an additional role. This review summarizes experimental evidence indicating that sulfated polysaccharides might become increasingly important in drug development for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases in the near future.

Natural compounds offer interesting pharmacological perspectives for antiviral drug development. In this study, we have analysed sulphated-fucan-containing fractions isolated from the brown seaweed Cystoseira indica. The crude water extract (CiWE) and the main fraction (CiF3) obtained by anion exchange chromatography had potent antiviral activity against herpes simplex virus types 1 (HSV-1) and 2 (HSV-2) without cytotoxicity for Vero cell cultures. Furthermore, they had no direct inactivating effect on virions in a virucidal assay, and lacked anticoagulant activity. The mode of action of these compounds could be mainly ascribed to an inhibitory effect on virus adsorption. Chemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic methods showed that the major polysaccharide had an apparent molecular mass of 35 kDa and contained a backbone of α-(1→3)-linked fucopyranosyl residues substituted at C-2 with fucopyranosyl and xylopyranosyl residues. This sulphated fucan, considered the active principle of the C. indica water extract, also contained variously linked xylose and galactose units and glucuronic acid residues. Sulphate groups, if present, are located mostly at C-4 of (1→3)-linked fucopyranosyl units, and appeared to be very important for the anti-herpetic activity of this polymer.