The Zika virus (ZIKV) of the Flaviviridae family is an emerging virus that caused, between 2016 and 2018, serious public health problems in Latin America, affecting neonates with greater severity. The clinical spectrum includes Guillain-Barré syndrome, microcephaly and others neurodegenerative diseases. There is no antiviral treatment or vaccine against this virus, for that reason the antiviral properties of various plants are being studied. Lippia alba , locally known as “Prontoalivio”, is an aromatic shrub of the Verbenaceae family with a wide geographical distribution (especially in South and Central America) and is used in traditional medicine against fever, skin diseases and as a pain reliever. In this study, the antiviral activity of the essential oil of Lippia alba against ZIKV was evaluated in the Vero 76 cell line. Lippia alba was collected in the department of Amazonas, in the rainforest of Peru, and identified in the Museo de Historia Natural of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. The essential oil sample was obtained by steam hydrodistillation. The essential oil showed cytotoxicity to a concentration greater than or equal to 167 μg/mL in the Vero 76 cell line. The antiviral activity of essential oil against ZIKV (previously identified by real-time PCR and propagated in the C6/36 cell line) was evaluated using the plaque reduction test (PRP). The essential oil showed antiviral activity in concentrations from 8.02 μg/mL to 20.88 μg/mL, which represents a range between 59.44% to 85.56% of plaque reduction and may be considered as a candidate for antiviral studies against ZIKV.

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