Special natural products can inhibit HIV replication

Recently, scientists found a special natural product from more than 4500 plant extracts (http://www.chemdrug.com/sell/32/), and confirmed that it can inhibit HIV replication, and the effect is better than the first anti AIDS drug (http://www.chemdrug.com/) zidovudine (AZT), which was launched in 1987 The surprising compound, patentiflorin a, comes from a plant commonly used in Southeast Asia to treat arthritis and rheumatism Published in the Journal of natural products, this paper reveals that a natural product from Southeast Asian plants has the potential to fight AIDS The discovery is one of many years of work by research teams from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Hong Kong Baptist University and the Vietnamese Academy of Sciences They are trying to find natural products that are expected to be used in the field of health and medicine (http://www.chemdrug.com/invest/253/) The main leaders include: Lijun Rong, Professor of Microbiology and immunology of medical school, an expert in the development of antiviral drugs; Harry Fong, deputy director of the World Health Organization's traditional medicine program and pharmacologist; Doel, Professor of pharmaceutical chemistry of UIC medical school Soejarto, a famous botanist More than 10 years ago, Professor soejarto collected Justicia gendarussa, a plant used to treat arthritis and rheumatism, in the CUC Phuong National Park in Hanoi, Vietnam In order to find a new drug (http://www.chemdrug.com/sell/76/) that can fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and cancer, scientists analyzed its root, stem and leaf extracts (http://www.chemdrug.com/sell/16/) Finally, the team found patentiflorin a, which confirmed that it can inhibit the activity of reverse transcriptase, a key enzyme regulating the integration of HIV genetic material into the host DNA The antiviral effect is better than that of AZT zidovudine, AZT, the first anti AIDS drug approved in 1987, which is still the "cornerstone" of antiviral cocktail therapy AZT prevents HIV replication by inhibiting reverse transcriptase activity Reverse transcriptase is responsible for the reverse transcription of viral RNA, so as to ensure that viral genetic material can be inserted into the host genome Now, the team has confirmed that patentiflorin a has a stronger inhibition of reverse transcriptase in human cells infected with HIV Professor Rong said: "patentiflorin a can inhibit the activity of reverse transcriptase, and the effect is better than AZT It works in the early stages of HIV infection, when the virus enters macrophages " At the same time, patentiflorin A is also effective against drug-resistant HIV These characteristics give patentiflorin a the potential to become an anti HIV candidate "Patentiflorin A is expected to become a new type of anti AIDS drug, which can be included in cocktail therapy, so as to improve the prevention and inhibition of the virus." The researchers stressed Scientists can also synthesize patentiflorin a (http://www.chemdrug.com/article/8/) "If we can synthesize this compound in the laboratory, we don't need to plant and treat plants specially, so we can control the cost of drugs and capital investment, and reduce the impact on the environment and ecology," said Prof Rong