Costunolide, a sesquiterpene lactone from Saussurea lappa Clarke, exhibits broad pharmacological properties, including anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects. This review examines its emerging potential as a host-directed antiviral compound. Costunolide modulates conserved host signaling pathways frequently exploited during viral infection, including nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. Inhibition of NF-κB may suppress viral transcription in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection, while NLRP3 blockade may limit inflammasome-driven viral reactivation in Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection and attenuate hyperinflammation in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease. Additional modulation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT (PI3K/AKT), Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), and Wnt/β-catenin pathways further expands its host-directed antiviral profile. These pleiotropic effects are mechanistically linked to the electrophilic α-methylene-γ-lactone moiety, which undergoes cysteine-directed Michael addition on target proteins. Collectively, these findings position costunolide as a promising host-directed antiviral scaffold, though pharmacokinetic optimization and virus-specific experimental validation remain necessary prerequisites for therapeutic translation.
Acuña et al. (Thu,) studied this question.