Korean medicinal plants were screened for their inhibitory activity against HIV-1 protease. The inhibitory activity of protease was determined by incubating the extracts in reaction mixtures containing protease and substrate His-Lys-Ala-Arg-Val-Leu-(p-NO2-Phe)-Glu-Ala-Nle-Ser-NH2 to perform proteolytic cleavage reactions. In this study the twenty six extracts from medicinal plants were investigated. Of the extracts tested, the extracts from the stem of Morus alba. exhibited the strongest activity with inhibition of 81% at a concentration of 100μg/ml. The extracts of the flower of Saxjfraga stolonifera, and stems of Euonymus japonica and Castanea crenata showed appreciable inhibitory activity (〉50%) against HIV-1 protease at same concentration.

• Jong-Cheol Park
• Hirotsugu Miyashiro
• Masao Hattori