The Potential of Sub-Saharan African Plants in the Management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infections: A Review.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Southern Africa. Phytomedicines are an integral part of African health care. The Southern African flora is composed of at least 23 400 taxa. Despite this richness, only a handful of botanical products have been assessed for activities against HIV. This study aimed to summarize the potential of Sub-Saharan African plants, based on their composition and the established bioactivities, as sources of agents to manage HIV symptoms and as retroviral therapy. At least 109 plant species from 42 families and 94 genera that are found in Southern Africa were shown to have potential or actual activities against HIV. Only 12 of these plant species from 6 families and 10 genera were shown to harbour anti-HIV properties. Phytochemicals that include β-sitosterols, terpenoids, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids, triterpenoids, tannins and alkaloids, which harbour anti-HIV properties, were found to have a near cosmopolitan presence across the plant families in the region. Bioactivities of multiple phytochemicals are comparable to those for standard allopathic antiretroviral drugs. Research to determine the anti-HIV activities of the identified and other plants, including clinical trials, is long overdue.
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Bindura University of Science Education, P. Bag 1020, Bindura, Zimbabwe.|Institute Ceres/Zavod Ceres, Lahovna 16, 3000, Celje, Slovenia.
Walter
W
Chingwaru
Institute Ceres/Zavod Ceres, Lahovna 16, 3000, Celje, Slovenia.|Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Centre Maribor, Ljubljanska 5, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia.
Jerneja
J
Vidmar
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Namibia, P/Bag 13301, 340 Mandume Ndemufayo Avenue, Pionierspark, Windhoek, Namibia.
Petrina T
PT
Kapewangolo
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000628:therapy; D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D000353:Africa, Southern; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008517:Phytotherapy
HIV; Southern Africa; bioactivity; composition; phytochemicals