Effects of plant extracts on HIV-1 protease.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most important public health problems, affecting many people every day. This syndrome is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the HIV-1 protease plays an essential role by promoting virus maturation and thus infecting new cells. The HIV-1 protease is one of the main targets for anti-HIV drug therapy. The present work is a literature survey of plant extracts whose activity has been studied on HIV-1 protease. Here we list 275 species of medicinal plants, distributed in 99 families, with their place of origin, part used, type of extract, concentration and activity. We aim with this work to provide data that could be used in the research and development of new therapeutic agents for AIDS treatment.