Inhibitory effect of tannins on reverse transcriptase from RNA tumor virus

Twenty-four tannins and related compounds were examined for inhibition against reverse transcriptase from RNA tumor virus. Hydrolyzable tannins showed a potent inhibitory effect comparable to nitidine, in the presence of polyadenylic acid-oligothymidylic acid as a template-primer. A lesser inhibitory activity was observed for the monomeric ellagitannins, gallotannins, and nitidine using polycytidylic acid-oligodeoxyguanylic acid as a template-primer, whereas the inhibitory activity of dimeric ellagitannins was almost as potent as that observed for these compounds in the polyadenylic acid-oligothymidylic acid directed reaction. Inhibition by tannins was reversed by the addition of either template-primer or enzyme, suggesting that the inhibition is due to the interaction of tannins with both of them.