Faculty of Science - RESEARCH PAPERS & ACTIVIES

Undergraduate Research Student Profiles - 2012

Full Length Research Paper: Ethnomedicinal plants and other natural products with anti-HIV active compounds and their putative modes of action

Kazhila C. Chinsembu1 and Marius Hedimbi1,2* 1
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia.
Multidisciplinary Research Centre, Science and Technology Division, University of Namibia, P/Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia.
Accepted 20 August, 2010

The use of ethnomedicines to manage HIV/AIDS has recently gained public interest, although harmonization with official HIV/AIDS policy remains a contentious issue in many countries. Plants and other natural products present a large repertoire from which to isolate novel anti-HIV active compounds. In this literature survey, 55 plant families containing 95 plant species, and other natural products, were found to contain anti-HIV active compounds that included diterpenes, triterpenes, biflavonoids, coumarins, caffeic acid tetramers, hypericin, gallotannins, galloylquinic acids, curcumins, michellamines, and limonoids. These active compounds inhibited various steps in the HIV life cycle. However, further studies are needed to determine their interactions with current regimes of
antiretroviral drugs. More clinical trials of candidate drugs developed from these novel compounds are also encouraged.
Key words: Anti-HIV active compounds, other natural products, plants.

Research – Open Access: An ethnobotanical survey of plants used to manage HIV/AIDS opportunistic infections in Katima Mulilo, Caprivi region, Namibia

Kazhila C Chinsembu, Marius Hedimbi*

Abstract
Katima Mulilo has the highest burden of HIV/AIDS in Namibia. Due to several constraints of the antiretroviral therapy programme, HIV-infected persons still use ethnomedicines to manage AIDS-related opportunistic infections. Despite the reliance on plants to manage HIV/AIDS in Katima Mulilo, there have been no empirical studies to document the specific plant species used by traditional healers to treat AIDS-related opportunistic infections. In this study, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted to record the various plant families, species, and plant parts used to manage different HIV/AIDS-related opportunistic infections in Katima Mulilo, Caprivi region, Namibia. The results showed that a total of 71 plant species from 28 families, mostly the Combretaceae (14%), Anacardiaceae (8%), Mimosaceae (8%), and Ebanaceae (7%), were used to treat conditions such as herpes zoster, diarrhoea, coughing, malaria, meningitis, and tuberculosis. The most plant parts used were leaves (33%), bark (32%), and roots (28%) while the least used plant parts were fruits/seeds (4%). Further research is needed to isolate the plants’ active chemical compounds and understand their modes of action.