[Screening of anti-simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) drugs from Chinese medicinal herbs]

The inhibitory activities of more than 40 species of Chinese medicinal herbs or their single chemical components against simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) have been studied. The study revealed that four species of the medicinal herbs and a single chemical component had more than 50% inhibition of SIV antigen expression and five other herbs' inhibitory rate of SIV antigen expression was between 30-50%. The results showed that Chinese medicinal herbs could inhibit the SIV activity.