Punica granatum as Anticandidal and Anti-HIV Agent: An HIV Oral Cavity Potential Drug
Authors
Maira Huerta-Reyes
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Enfermedades Nefrológicas, Hospital de Especialidades “Dr. Bernardo Sepúlveda Gutiérrez”, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Ciudad de México 06720, Mexico
Luis Gaitán-Cepeda
Departamento de Medicina y Patología Oral y Maxilofacial, División de Estudios de Postgrado e Investigación, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, Mexico
Luis Sánchez-Vargas
Laboratorio de Bioquímica y Microbiología Oral, Facultad de Estomatología, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 78290, Mexico
The oral cavity is crucial from diagnosis to adherence to HAART therapy in the HIV/AIDS population; consequently, drugs that can maintain healthy conditions in the oral cavity are necessary for patients with HIV/AIDS. Punica granatum (pomegranate) is a tree that has been employed extensively for centuries in the traditional medicine of ancient cultures for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including oral and dental diseases. In recent decades, its potent anticandidal properties have been shown, especially on Candida albicans, the cause of the most common clinical manifestation in HIV patients. The present work contributes to the review of the anti-HIV and anticandidal properties of the plant species P. granatum as involved with the oral cavity. The literature reviewed revealed that crude extracts of pomegranate and its main isolated compounds possess inhibitory activity on different HIV targets, including binding viral proteins and the three replicative HIV enzymes. In addition, in the literature reviewed, pomegranate exhibited anticandidal effects on 10 different species. Thus, pomegranate appears to be an excellent candidate to explore and incorporate into the treatment of the oral cavity of HIV/AIDS patients, in that, in addition to its pharmacological effects such as antiviral and anticandidal, pomegranate represents an easily available, inexpensive, and safe natural source.
Keywords: Punica granatum, pomegranate, HIV, Candida, oral cavity, punicalagin, polyphenols, anthocyanins, gallotannins
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