There is a constant need to improve antiretrovirals against HIV since therapy is limited by cost, side effects and the emergence of drug resistance. Kudzu is a climbing vine from which the root extract (Pueraria lobata), rich in isoflavones and saponins, has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a variety of purposes, from weight loss to alcoholism prevention. Here we show that Kudzu root extract significantly inhibits HIV-1 entry into cell lines, primary human CD4+T lymphocytes and macrophages, without cell-associated toxicity. Specifically, Kudzu inhibits the initial attachment of the viral particle to the cell surface, a mechanism that depends on the envelope glycoprotein gp120 but is independent from the HIV-1 cell receptor CD4 and co-receptors CXCR4/CCR5. This activity seems selective to lentiviruses since Kudzu inhibits HIV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus, but does not interfere with Hepatitis C, Influenza, Zika Brazil and adenovirus infection. Importantly, depending on the dose, Kudzu can act synergistically or additively with the current antiretroviral cocktails against HIV-1 and can block viruses resistant to the fusion inhibitor Enfuvirtide. Together our results highlight Kudzu’s root extract value as a supplement to current antiretroviral therapy against HIV.

中文翻译：

---

葛根提取物有效抑制 HIV-1 细胞附着

由于治疗受到成本、副作用和耐药性出现的限制，因此一直需要改进针对 HIV 的抗逆转录病毒药物。Kudzu 是一种攀缘藤本植物，其根提取物（Pueraria lobata）富含异黄酮和皂苷，长期以来在中药中用于多种用途，从减肥到预防酒精中毒。在这里，我们表明葛根提取物显着抑制 HIV-1 进入细胞系、原代人类 CD4+T 淋巴细胞和巨噬细胞，而没有细胞相关毒性。具体来说，葛根抑制病毒颗粒最初附着在细胞表面，这种机制依赖于包膜糖蛋白 gp120，但独立于 HIV-1 细胞受体 CD4 和共同受体 CXCR4/CCR5。这种活性似乎对慢病毒具有选择性，因为葛根抑制 HIV-2 和猿猴免疫缺陷病毒，但不会干扰丙型肝炎、流感、巴西寨卡病毒和腺病毒感染。重要的是，根据剂量，葛根可以与当前针对 HIV-1 的抗逆转录病毒鸡尾酒协同或相加作用，并可以阻断对融合抑制剂恩夫韦肽具有抗性的病毒。我们的结果共同强调了葛根提取物作为当前针对 HIV 的抗逆转录病毒疗法的补充的价值。