OBJECTIVE:To test the in vitro antiviral activity of a crudetissueextract(CTE)fromtheearthwormEisenia fetida,determine any effective components in the CTE,andelucidatepossiblemechanismsofaction.METHODS:A CTE was made by homogenizing earthworms,followed by treatment with ammonium sulfate,then thermal denaturation.Inhibition of virus-induced cytopathic effect(CPE) was used to assess antiviral activity.Chromatographic analysis was used to identify effective components in the CTE.RESULTS:The CTE inhibited viral CPE at non-cytotoxic concentrations.Chromatography indicated that antiviral components corresponded to three active peaks indicative of proteases,nucleases and lysozymes.For adenoviruses,reduction in viral activity occurred for 100 μg/mL CTE.The reduction in adenoviral activity for four fractions was 100%,91.8%,86.9%,and 94.7%.For influenza viruses,reduction in viral activity of 100%,86.6%,69.1% and 88.3% was observed for 37 μg/mL CTE.In addition,three active fractions mixture had stronger antiviral activity(98.7% and 96.7%) than three fractions alone.Gel electrophoresis results indicated that nucleases from E.fetida could degrade the genome of influenza viruses and adenoviruses.CONCLUSION:The earthworm CTE displayed non-specific antiviral properties,possibly mediated by a combination of proteases,nucleases and lysozymes.Nucleases likely participate in the antiviral process,and degrade the genome of the virus thereby preventing further replication. OBJECTIVE: To test the in vitro antiviral activity of a crude engineered extract (CTE) from thearthwormEisenia fetida, determine any effective components in the CTE, andelucidatepossible mechanisms of action. METHODS: A CTE was made by homogenizing earthworms, followed by treatment with ammonium sulfate, then thermal denaturation. Inhibition of virus-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) was used to assess antiviral activity. Chromatographic analysis was used to identify effective components in the CTE. RESULTS: The CTE Measured viral CPE at non-cytotoxic concentrations. Chromatography that antiviral components were corresponded to three active Figures indicative of proteases, nucleases and lysozymes. For adenoviruses, reduction in viral activity occurred for 100 μg / mL CTE. The reduction in adenoviral activity for four fractions was 100%, 91.8%, 86.9%, and 94.7%. For influenza viruses, reduction in viral activity of 100%, 86.6%, 69.1% and 88.3% was observed for 37 μg / mL CTE. addition, three active fractions mixture had stronger antiviral activity (98.7% and 96.7%) than three fractions alone. Gel electrophoresis results indicated that nucleases from E.fetida could degrade the genome of influenza viruses and adenoviruses. CONCLUSION: The earthworm CTE displayed non-specific antiviral properties, possibly mediated by a combination of proteases, nucleases and lysozymes. Nucleases likely participated in the antiviral process, and degrade the genome of the virus prevented associative replication.