Screening of Adhatoda vasica Nees as a Putative HIV-protease Inhibitor

Abstract

SUMMARY

AIDS remain as one of the greatest public health challenges in the current world’s health sector. Adhatoda vasica Nees, is widely used as a folk medicine and in Ayurvedic system of medicine in India. As a part of our prescreening program of anti-HIV agents from natural sources, various crude extracts of A. vasica were evaluated in-vitro. Pepsin Assay as a substitute of HIV-Protease was used for screening HIV-protease inhibitors in this experiment. The crude extract of A. vasica exhibited potent inhibitory activity of enzyme Pepsin in this assay system, so it might be a potent inhibitor of HIV-Protease which belongs to same aspartate family of enzyme and sharing same signature group at the active site.

Key words: HIV-Protease, HAART, AIDS, Pepstatine A

K.P. Singh et al.  Screening of Adhatoda vasica Nees as a Putative HIV-protease Inhibitor. J Phytol 2/4 (2010) 78-82