Department of Eastern Medicine, Directorate of Medical Sciences, Government College University-Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Kazakh Research Institute of Processing and Food Industry (Semey Branch), Semey, Kazakhstan.
Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2019 Dec;46(12):1063-1073. doi: 10.1111/1440-1681.13151. Epub 2019 Aug 22.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes the potentially life-threatening and chronic disease called acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). The main target of this viral disease is to suppress the immune system and make the body unresponsive to external stimuli. According to global health observatory data since epidemic, more than 78 million people were affected by HIV and 39 million people died globally. Until 2017, 36.5 million people were living with HIV. An estimated 0.8% (0.6%-0.9%) of adults aged 15-49 years worldwide is living with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the African region remains most severely affected, with nearly one in every 25 adults (4.1%) living with HIV and accounting for nearly two-thirds of the people living with HIV worldwide. WHO reported that globally only 21.7 million (19.1 million-22.6 million) people have had access to antiretroviral therapy up to 2017. Currently, antiretroviral therapy (ART) is available for the control of HIV but has serious associated side effects such as lipodystrophy. Because of the limitations, associated with ART, researchers throughout the world are trying to explore and develop more reliable and safe drugs from natural resources to manage HIV infection. A wide range of medicinal plants have been studied and have reported significant potential against HIV. Plants like Rheum palmatum L., Rheum officinale, Trigonostem axyphophylloides, Vatica astrotricha, Vernonia amygdalina, Hypoxias pelargonium, Sidoides hemerocallidea and Sutherlandia frutescens etc. have high efficacy to cure HIV. The exact mechanism of action is still not known but various phytoconstituents isolated from medicinal plants such as alkaloids, flavonoids, polyphenols, terpenoids, tannins, proteins and coumarins have the potential to interrupt the life cycle of HIV as well as act as immunomodulators to enhance the immune system of infected patients with no well reported side effects. It could be concluded that medicinal plants have potential for the management of HIV/AIDS but more studies are needed to reveal rigorous efficacy and safety concerns by conducting clinical trials at vast level to explore therapeutic impact of medicinal plants.
人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）会导致一种可能危及生命且慢性的疾病，即获得性免疫缺陷综合征（AIDS）。这种病毒疾病的主要目标是抑制免疫系统，使身体对外界刺激无反应。根据自疫情以来全球卫生观察站的数据，超过 7800 万人受到 HIV 的影响，全球有 3900 万人死亡。截至 2017 年，全球有 3650 万人携带 HIV。据估计，全世界 15-49 岁的成年人中有 0.8%（0.6%-0.9%）携带 HIV。世界卫生组织（WHO）报告称，非洲区域仍然受到最严重的影响，近每 25 名成年人中就有 1 人（4.1%）携带 HIV，占全球携带 HIV 人数的近三分之二。世界卫生组织报告称，截至 2017 年，全球只有 2170 万人（1910 万-2260 万人）接受了抗逆转录病毒治疗。目前，抗逆转录病毒疗法（ART）可用于控制 HIV，但存在严重的副作用，如脂肪营养不良。由于 ART 的局限性，世界各地的研究人员都在试图从自然资源中探索和开发更可靠和安全的药物来管理 HIV 感染。大量药用植物已被研究，并已被报道对 HIV 具有显著的潜力。像大黄、大黄、斜茎黄耆、越南油麻藤、乳香黄连、Hypoxias pelargonium、希波克拉底、垂穗石松等植物都有很高的疗效来治疗 HIV。确切的作用机制尚不清楚，但从药用植物中分离出的各种植物成分，如生物碱、类黄酮、多酚、萜类、单宁、蛋白质和香豆素，具有中断 HIV 生命周期的潜力，也可以作为免疫调节剂，增强感染患者的免疫系统，且没有很好的报道副作用。可以得出结论，药用植物具有治疗 HIV/AIDS 的潜力，但需要更多的研究来揭示通过在广泛的水平上进行临床试验来揭示严格的疗效和安全性问题，以探索药用植物的治疗效果。
