HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase-Inhibitory Compound in Salvia officinalis.

Methanol extracts of 98 specimens of the family Labiatae were assayed for their HIV-1 revers transcriptaseinhibitory activity. Potent activity was found in the genera Salvia and Glechoma. The major inhibitory compound in S. officinalis was identified as oleanolic acid, a pentacyclic triterpenoid, by means of 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and EI-MS. This compound showed an IC50 value of 1.6-2.0 μg/ml, similar to the authentic oleanolic acid preparation. Oleanolic acid was not a common component of the genus Salvia and not the sole inhibitory compound in Salvia.