Discussion
Outbreaks of avian H5N1 pose a public health risk of
potentially pandemic proportions. Infections with
influenza A viruses are still a major health burden, and the
options for the control and treatment of the disease are
limited. Natural products and their derivatives have, his-torically, been invaluable sources of therapeutic agents.
Recent technological advances,coupled with unrealized
expectations from current lead-generation strategies, have
led to renewed interest in natural products in drug discov-ery. This is also true in the field of anti-influenza research
[24]. Here, we show that aqueous dandelion extracts exert
potent antiviral activity in cell culture.