Inhibition of HIV-1 Replication by Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbal Extracts

Abstract

Background: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is the current treatment for HIV/AIDS and contains a combination of anti-HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors and protease inhibitors. It is effective in suppressing HIV replication and subsequently improving the patients' survival. However, the issues associated with use of HARRT such as the high cost, severe side effects, and drug resistance has called for development of alternative anti-HIV therapeutic strategies. In this study, we screened several traditional Chinese medicinal herbal extracts for their anti-HIV activities and determined their anti-HIV mechanisms.