Ethyl gallate (EG) is a type of flavonoids, which is naturally occurring secondary found in a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and plants, including the peel and pulp of apples, babul leaf, guava leaf, mango peel etc. Among several polyphenols, EG is a low molecular weight tri-phenolic compound with potent anti-inflammatory properties antioxidative, antidiabetics, cardiovascular and neuroprotective properties^[1].

Preclinical studies have shown that it has the capacity to modulate inflammation and oxidative stress, both of them plays significant roles in a variety of pathological diseases. The versatility of ethyl gallate in addressing a lot of disease pathways demonstrates its promise in integrated therapeutic methods.

Mechanism

Research found that ethyl gallate significantly attenuated LPS induced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 at the protein and mRNA levels. At a functional level, it inhibited the adhesion of neutrophils to LPS activated endothelium. EG inhibited LPS induced cell adhesion molecules expression by blocking AP-1 transcription factor without affecting nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB)^[2].

Antiviral

Researchers investigated the inhibitory effects of ethyl gallate against Zika virus (ZIKV) using antiviral activity evaluation, molecular docking, and molecular dynamic simulations. Treatment of ZIKV-infected Vero E6 cells with ethyl gallate resulted in dose-dependent suppression of viral infection without inducing cytotoxicity. In addition, ethyl gallate inhibited the increase in the expression of interferon-stimulated genes in ZIKV-infected cells. It also exhibited binding energies of ?5.9868, ?247.271, and ?200.43 kcal/mol for ZIKV envelope, NS3, and RdRp proteins, respectively. Furthermore, the molecular dynamic simulation results showed that the ethyl gallate-NS3 and ethyl gallate-RdRp complexes were more stable than the ethyl gallate-envelope protein complex, suggesting that ethyl gallate has the potential to inhibit ZIKV replication. These findings position ethyl gallate as an antiviral agent with potential against Zika infection^[3].

References

[1] Sharma, R., Raza, M. A., Firdous, A., Ajazuddin. (2025). Therapeutic potential and pharmaceutical development of multitargeted polyphenolic compound ethyl gallate. Pharmacological Research - Natural Products, 8, Article 100339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prenap.2025.100339

[2] Mehla, K., Balwani, S., Kulshreshtha, A., Nandi, D., Jaisankar, P., Ghosh, B. (2011). Ethyl gallate isolated from Pistacia integerrima Linn. inhibits cell adhesion molecules by blocking AP-1 transcription factor. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 137 3, Pages 1345-1352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2011.07.068

[3] Lee, Y.-J., Kang, N., Heo, J.-H., Kim, E.-A., Heo, S.-J. (2025). Antiviral Activity of Ethyl Gallate Against Zika Virus: In Vitro and In Silico Studies. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26 24. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms262412062