Abstract
An anti-HIV methanol-soluble fraction of a 1:1 CH2Cl2:CH3OH extract of twigs of a Kenyan Croton dichogamus yielded seven compounds, the new crotocascarin ω (1), the known β-oplopanone (2), dihydroconiferyl acetate (3), 3’(4’’-hydroxyphenyl)-propyl benzoate (4), lupeol, sitosterol and stigmasterol. Crotocascarin ω (90%) inhibited HIV-1 replication with an IC50 value of 5.3 nM, and the compound was cytotoxic towards MT-4 cells presenting an IC50 value of 84 µM. In silico modelling showed that the anti-HIV activity for compound 1 could be through the HIV-1 protease inhibition.
Graphical Abstract
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Acknowledgments
EMT acknowledges University of Nairobi, Kenya Medical Research Institute and the Institute of Primate Research for their support toward the successful completion of the research work.
Institutional review board statement
The collection of the plant was performed after obtaining the required ethical approval from the Kenyatta National Hospital-University of Nairobi Ethics and Research Committee (KNH-UON ERC), approval number P992/12/2019.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.