Composition and pharmaceutical preparation containing same for the treatment of herpes and related viral infections

A composition comprising a lignin-carbohydrate complex, wherein a ratio of lignin to carbohydrate is about 2:1,

• wherein said complex has molecular weight of about 8.5 kDa;
• wherein said lignin comprises oxidized derivatives of vanillin, syringaldehyde and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde;
• wherein said carbohydrate is characterized as a water soluble polyanionic polysaccharide comprising glucose, galactose, xylose, arabinose, rhamnose, mannose, and galacturonic acid, wherein glucose is a major constituent as analyzed by paper chromatography;
• wherein said complex is effective for treatment of the cytopatogenic effects of an enveloped virus in a mammal;
• and
• wherein a therapeutically effective amount of said composition has little or no in vivo toxicity to a mammalian subject to which it is administered.