Prostratin

Prostratin is a PKC (Protein Kinase C) activator that does not induce tumor formation. It upregulates latent HIV-1 provirus expression and inhibts HIV infection and viral spread at the entry/fusion step of viral life cycle. This essentially helps the body rid the latently infected CD4+ T-cells of the virus. Theoretically when used with other drugs (in vitro) this could eliminate the virus from latent and active life cycles completely. Prostratin is an activator of IKK. The compound was interestingly discovered from an ethnobotanical studies on Samoa. It was originally discovered in the tree Homolanthus nutans of which was known to be useful to scientific research on viruses.