ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF A NOVEL COMPOUND FROM WITHANIASOMNIFERA: IN VITRO STUDIES ON HIV-1 REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE INHIBITION

<p><strong><span>ABSTRACT</span></strong></p> <p><span>The emergence of drug-resistant strains of HIV-1 underscores the need for novel therapeutic agents&nbsp;with improved efficacy and safety profiles. Therefore, this study aims to assess the in vitro HIV-1 RT&nbsp;inhibition of active molecule isolated form W. somnifera. Crude extract was prepared from W.&nbsp;sominfera stem bark my using methanol solvent. Isolation and Purification was done using TLC,&nbsp;column chromatography techniques. Characterization of isolated compound was done with using&nbsp;spectral studies. HIV-1 RT inhibition of isolated compound was done. Cell viability against PBMC&nbsp;cells of isolated compound was performed with MTT assay. The compound exhibited a dosedependent inhibition of HIV-1 RT activity, with increasing percentages of inhibition observed at&nbsp;higher concentrations. At 50 &micro;g/mL, Compound displayed a 31.5% inhibition, which progressively&nbsp;increased to 76.4% at 800 &micro;g/mL. The IC50 value for Compound was determined to be 152 &micro;g/mL,&nbsp;indicating the concentration at which 50% inhibition of HIV-1 RT activity is achieved. The isolated&nbsp;compound exhibited decreasing cell viability as the concentration increased, with values of 91%,&nbsp;85.1%, 75.5%, 68.0%, and 65.4% at 50 &micro;g/mL, 100 &micro;g/mL, 200 &micro;g/mL, 400 &micro;g/mL, and 800 &micro;g/mL,&nbsp;respectively. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive assessment of compound&nbsp;activity, considering both antiviral potency against HIV-1 RT and cytotoxic effects on healthy cells.<br></span></p> <p><strong><span>Keywords</span><span>: </span></strong><span>HIV-1 RT, W. somnifera, TLC, Column, Cell viability, MTT assay</span>&nbsp;</p>