Recent advances in the discovery and development of plant-derived natural products and their analogs as anti-HIV agents

Abstract

Chemotherapy for AIDS has progressed steadily in the past decade with the advent of five HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors, protease inhibitors, and combination of the two. However, new, effective, and less toxic chemotherapeutic agents are still needed. Plants, particularly anti-infective or immunomodulating Chinese herbal medicines, can serve as sources of new active leads to be further developed as anti-AIDS drug candidates. This report describes current new lead discovery and analog development in the authors' laboratory. Several compound classes (for example, DCK and betulinic acid derivatives) are extremely active against HIV replication, with activity rivaling or surpassing that of AZT. Continued progress is anticipated in the discovery of new leads and in the development of these agents as potential anti-AIDS drug candidates. © 1999 IUPAC.