Recent outbreaks of Nipah virus (NiV) in India remind us that zoonotic diseases or infections that spread from animals to humans, remains a serious threat. Many countries, including Malaysia have now intensified surveillance and health screenings at all international entry points, such as airports. Nipah, while not airborne, is especially dangerous because it spreads through close contact, has a high death rate, and currently has no approved vaccine or specific treatment.
The World Health Organization lists Nipah as a priority pathogen, highlighting the urgent need for vaccines and antiviral drugs. Monoclonal antibodies such as m102.4, and antivirals like Remdesivir and Favipiravir, already in use against COVID-19, are still in clinical or preclinical studies for Nipah.
One natural compound that might show promise is called silvestrol, found in Aglaia plants such as Aglaia stellatopilosa which grow in the highlands of central Borneo (Malaysia and Indonesia). Silvestrol has shown broad antiviral activity against various RNA viruses, including Ebola, Zika, Chikungunya, Hepatitis E, and coronaviruses which replicate in ways similar to Nipah (Ref: European Patent EP3305290A1 – Usage of silvestrol and episilvestrol for the treatment of viral infections).
The key to its success maybe, is that silvestrol works differently from traditional antivirals. Instead of attacking the virus directly, it blocks a protein in human cells that viruses need to make their proteins, preventing the virus from multiplying and making it harder for the virus to become resistant. This unique mechanism makes it a promising candidate against Nipah in our future studies.
SBC has the naturally derived, pure silvestrol compound available for ONLY R&D purposes. For purchase and more information, please contact us at
