title: A cardiac glucoside with in vitro anti-HIV activity isolated from Elaeodendron croceum.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects more than 40 million people worldwide and more than 5 million in South Africa alone. There is no cure for the disease yet, and novel effective drugs need to be discovered to make any progress in combating the disease. Twelve extracts from indigenous South African plants were analysed, of which Elaeodendron croceum showed potent inhibition of transcription factors and a recombinant HIV strain in an MT-2 VSV-pseudotyped recombinant virus assay at 100 ng mL(-1). Bioassay guided isolation of an ethanolic extract of E. croceum yielded a well-known digitoxigenin-glucoside as the only active compound. It showed significant inhibition (90%) at 0.2 µM. The in vitro toxicity of digitoxigenin-glucoside proved to be quite low, and its therapeutic index was 250. This observation indicates that digitoxigenin-glucoside could represent a potential pharmacophore for the treatment of HIV from natural sources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prinsloo
authors.forename: J J Marion
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Ahmed A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hussein
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.forename: Rocio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sanchez
mesh_terms: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002301:Cardiac Glycosides / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D029753:Celastraceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D004073:Digitoxigenin / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D013019:South Africa; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D002301:Cardiac Glycosides; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D014157:Transcription Factors; D004073:Digitoxigenin; C022616:thiazolyl blue