title: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 inhibitory activity of Mentha longifolia.
abstract: Extracts from a new chemotype of Mentha longifolia, a mint species that grows spontaneously and widely in the Moroccan mountains, were tested against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). We observed that non-toxic concentrations (10 microg/mL) of extracts from this plant, in particular methanol (Ext-1) and ethyl acetate (Ext-3) extracts, significantly inhibit (p < 0.01) HIV-1BaL infection by about 40% and 55%, respectively. In addition, only Ext-3 shows significant (p < 0.008) inhibitory activity (50% inhibition) against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. It is noteworthy that chemical analysis of these extracts suggests that flavonoids, mainly flavones of M. longifolia, may be the major inhibitors of HIV infection. In conclusion, these in vitro data suggest that components of M. longifolia may represent potential anti-HIV agents; the identification of such components is in progress.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biochimie-Immunologie, Département de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences, Rabat, Morocco. amzazi@fsr.ac.ma
authors.forename: Saaïd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amzazi
authors.forename: Saaïd
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghoulami
authors.forename: Youssef
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bakri
authors.forename: Abdelkader
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Il Idrissi
authors.forename: Souad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fkih-Tétouani
authors.forename: Abdelaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benjouad
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000187:drug effects; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000187:drug effects*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D027541:Mentha / Q000737:chemistry*; D009018:Morocco; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase