Abstract: In order to isolate anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) agents from natural products, 97 ethanolic extracts of 90 fungi were tested for their inhibitory activity on HIV-1. Most of the extracts tested were relatively non-toxic to human lymphocytic MT-4 cells, but extracts of some fungi exhibited potent anti-HIV activity in an in vitro 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2 thiazoyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay with a selectivity index greater than 3. Most fungi were isolated from Dendrobium sp. and Taxus sp.(Author for correspondence.Tel: +86 10 6302 4898; Fax: +86 10 6302 4898; E-mail: Jiangyan03@263.net)

Key words: 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2 thiazoyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide method, fungi extracts, antihuman immunode ficiency virus.