Croton megalobotrys Müll Arg. and Vitex doniana (Sweet): Traditional medicinal plants in a three-step treatment regimen that inhibit in vitro replication of HIV-1.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) strains resistant to licensed anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) continue to emerge. On the African continent, uneven access to ARVs combined with occurrence of side-effects after prolonged ARV therapy have led to searches for traditional medicines as alternative or complementary remedies to conventional HIV/AIDS management.

Aim Of The Study: Here we characterize a specific three-step traditional HIV/AIDS treatment regimen consisting of Cassia sieberiana root, Vitex doniana root, and Croton megalobotrys bark by combining qualitative interviews of traditional medical knowledge users in Botswana with in vitro HIV replication studies.