Anti-HIV and Anti-Candidal Effects of Methanolic Extract from .

Nowadays, the HIV pandemic is far from controlled. HIV+/AIDS patients show a serious risk of developing resistance to HIV antiretroviral drugs and to be orally colonized by and non- strains resistant to antifungals. As a consequence, new drugs that possess anti-candidal and anti-HIV effects would represent an alternative in the comprehensive treatment of HIV+/AIDS patients. The present study evaluates the possible anti-HIV and anti- effects of a methanolic extract from (Hb MeOH), an American tropical plant. The anti-HIV effect of Hb MeOH was tested using a non-radioactive colorimetric method (Lenti RT Activity Assay; Cavidi Tech) that uses reverse transcriptase of HIV-1 enzyme as enzymatic target. The anti-candidal effect of HbMeOH extract was evaluated by following a standardized test protocol of microdilution for yeast using the strain ATCC 90028. The Hb MeOH at 1 mg/mL concentration shows 38.5% RT-HIV inhibition, while Hb MeOH at 10 mg/mL concentration produced 98% growth inhibition. Our findings show that the Hb MeOH possesses a strong anti-candidal activity and moderate anti-HIV effect and suggests that the plant extract could be considered as a potential candidate for HIV/AIDS treatment.