1: Planta Med. 1998 Mar;64(2):97-109. Related Articles, Links

Plant-derived leading compounds for chemotherapy of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

infection.

Vlietinck AJ, De Bruyne T, Apers S, Pieters LA.

Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Antwerp (UA), Belgium.

vlietink@uta.ua.ac.be

Many compounds of plant origin have been identified that inhibit different stages in the replication

cycle of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): 1) virus adsorption: chromone alkaloids

(schumannificine), isoquinoline alkaloids (michellamines), sulphated polysaccharides and

polyphenolics, flavonoids, coumarins (glycocoumarin, licopyranocoumarin) phenolics (caffeic acid

derivatives, galloyl acid derivatives, catechinic acid derivatives), tannins and triterpenes

(glycyrrhizin and analogues, soyasaponin and analogues); 2) virus-cell fusion: lectins (mannoseand

N-acetylglucosamine-specific) and triterpenes (betulinic acid and analogues); 3) reverse

transcription; alkaloids (benzophenanthridines, protoberberines, isoquinolines, quinolines),

coumarins (calanolides and analogues), flavonoids, phloroglucinols, lactones (protolichesterinic

acid), tannins, iridoids (fulvoplumierin) and triterpenes; 4) integration: coumarins (3-substituted-4-

hydroxycoumarins), depsidones, O-caffeoyl derivatives, lignans (arctigenin and analogues) and

phenolics (curcumin); 5) translation: single chain ribosome inactivating proteins (SCRIP's); 6)

proteolytic cleavage (protease inhibition): saponins (ursolic and maslinic acids), xanthones

(mangostin and analogues) and coumarins; 7) glycosylation: alkaloids including indolizidines

(castanospermine and analogues), piperidines (1-deoxynojirimicin and analogues) and

pyrrolizidines (australine and analogues); 8) assembly/release: naphthodianthrones (hypericin

and pseudohypericin), photosensitisers (terthiophenes and furoisocoumarins) and phospholipids.

The target of action of several anti-HIV substances including alkaloids (O-demethylbuchenavianine,

papaverine), polysaccharides (acemannan), lignans (intheriotherins,

schisantherin), phenolics (gossypol, lignins, catechol dimers such as peltatols, naphthoquinones

such as conocurvone) and saponins (celasdin B, Gleditsia and Gymnocladus saponins), has not

been elucidated or does not fit in the proposed scheme. Only a very few of these plant-derived

anti-HIV products have been used in a limited number of patients suffering from AIDS viz.

glycyrrhizin, papaverine, trichosanthin, castanospermine, N-butyl-1-deoxynojirimicin and

acemannan.

PMID: 9525100 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]