Plant Extracts as Antiviral Agents Jagessar RC 1 * 1 Department of Chemistry, South America Introduction Viruses are obligate intracellular parasites. They contain little more than bundles of gene strands of either RNA or DNA, and are surrounded by a lipid containing envelope, that is de- rived from the host cell membrane [1]. A complete virus particle, also known as a virion, con- sists of nucleic acids, surrounded by a protective coat of protein, the capsid. These are formed from proteinaceous capsomeres. The capsid is made from proteins, under the genetic instruc- tions of the viral genome. Its shape serves as a basis for morphological distinction. In general, there are four (4) main morphological virus types: helical, icosahedral, prolate and envelope [2-5]. Viruses utilize the synthetic environment of the host cell, to propagate new viruses or replicate. This is unlike bacterial cells, which are free living entities, outside of the host. There seems to be a current dispute whether viruses are living or non-living outside of the host. Amongst the viruses that induce diseases are herpes simplex virus (HSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), varicella zoster virus (VZV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), influenza human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and recently, SARS- COV-2. Viruses induce a wide range of diseases. These include Lassa fever, Ebola fever, AIDS, papillomavirus (HPV), infectious mononucleosis, mumps, measles and rubella, shingles, viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu), viral hepatitis, viral meningitis, viral pneumonia, common cold. These diseases appear to have no cure or vaccine to date [6,7]. Viruses have been successful as invasion hosts due to four attributes. These include ge- netic variation, variety in means of transmission, efficient replication within host cells and the ability to persist in the host1. In addition, viruses can mutate to a more resistant strain. The presence of mutating agents such as certain chemicals can cause this mutation. Each strain of virus has its own unique configuration of surface molecules [1]. The surface molecules work Crimson Publishers Wings to the Research Mini Review *Corresponding author: Jagessar RC, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Guyana, South America Submission: June 06, 2020 Published: July 10, 2020 Volume 3 - Issue 1 How to cite this article: Jagessar RC. Plant Extracts as Antiviral Agents. Mod Appro Drug Des. 3(1). MADD.000553.2020. DOI: 10.31031/MADD.2020.03.000553 Copyright@ Jagessar RC. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. ISSN: 2576-9170 1 Modern Approaches in Drug Designing Abstract With the advent of COVID-19, an infectious disease, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-COV-2), which has claimed the death of thousands around the globe, there is an urgent intense need to screen plant extracts, in addition to the search for synthetic medicines and a vaccine to neutralize the coronavirus. Whilst the use of plant extracts for antimicrobial, antidiabetic and other assays have reached their zenith, research in the use of plant extracts as antiviral agents lacks comparison. Such research would also come in close scrutiny in the future, considering that the virus can mutate and lead to antiviral strains. Thus, research in this area, should seek the approval of health organisations, locally and international and may become increasing difficult to pursue, considering the emergence of COVID-19 disease. Viruses can mutate in the presence of chemicals and other mutating agents to produce Novel viral strains, with devastating effect on the human race. Viruses detrimental to the human race, can emerge from any countries. Once approval is sought, for antiviral research, herbal antiviral medicinal research should intensified. Guyana diverse flora offers a promising source for natural antiviral agents and needs continual screening in this direction. However, it would need approval from world health organisations for antiviral testing. Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-COV-2; Antiviral; Antimicrobial; Viruses; Mutate