EVALUATION OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS AS PUTATIVE HIV-PROTEASE INHIBITORS

Aqueous extracts of Ocimum sanctum Linn., Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers ex Hook. f. & Thoms, Withania somnifera Dunal, Avicennia officinalis Linn. and Rhizophora mucronata Lam. were included for the present in vitro study. Pepsin was used as a substitute for HIV-protease to evaluate inhibitory activity of these extracts, as pepsin has close resemblance with HIV-protease in proteolytic activity. O. sanctum revealed the highest inhibitory activity followed by R. mucronata. In our earlier study, O. sanctum and R. mucronata exerted anti-HIV activity via multiple mechanisms of action; viz., interference with the gp120 / CD4 interaction and inhibition of HIV-reverse transcriptase. In the present study, they also showed potent inhibitory activity against pepsin enzyme (indirectly against HIV-protease) which may be due their flavonoids content.