Study of Anti-Retroviral Effects of Salix Aegyptiaca L Herbal Extract on HIV-1 in-vitro

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is the major problem in the world. Nowadays, new anti-retroviral drugs are extracted from medicinal plants, make an important role to supersede synthetic drugs with different side effects. In this study, we studied the Salix aegyptiaca L extract, Iranian herb, as an anti-HIV drug with anti-retroviral effects. We used a single cycle replicable (SCR) HIV-1 system by co-transfection of HEK 293T with pmzNL4-3, psPAX2 and pM2G.2. Cytotoxicity and cytopathic protection assay were performed by XTT method. Inhibition of p24 Ag production level assay was done using quantitative enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Salix aegyptiaca L inhibited HIV-1 induced CPE in HELA cells with SI value of 22.2. Finally, we use informatics analysis such as Gaussian, Hyper Chem , HF and B3LYP methods and 6-31G, 6-31G** and 6-311G** basis sets. These results suggest that Salix aegyptiaca L has potent anti-HIV activity and may be a promising candidate for AIDS.