DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The lectins of the present invention are obtained from the plants of the class Dicotyledoneae and have a function for inhibiting the reverse transcriptase activity as well as an inhibiting activity against adsorption of a human immunodeficiency virus, and the antiretroviral drug according to the present invention comprises as active ingredient the lectins obtained from the plants of the class Dicotyledoneae.
The term "lectins" used in the present invention refers to the protein-bound polysaccharides or proteins having such functions as promoting cell agglutination, activating the cell division inducing function and raising cytotoxicity.
The plants of the class Dicotyledoneae from which the lectins of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as the present substance) can be obtained include all the plants belonging to Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 of Dicotyledones in the Makela's classification (O.
Makela: Ann.
Med.
Exp.
Biol.
, FENN, 35, supl.
II (1957); and R.
Mori and T.
Osawa: LECTIN, June 10, 1976, Kodansha).
For example, in Group 1, the dicotyledons of the genus to which Lotus tetragonolobus and Ulex europeus belong, are exemplified, and from Group 2, those of the genus to which Abrus precatorius, Abachis hypogaea, Bandeiraea simplifolia, Bauhinia purpunea, Calpuria aeggptiana, Femes formentarius, Glycine max, Maackia amurensis, Phaseolus lunatas, Phaseolus vulgaris, Ricinus communis, Robinia pseudocacia, Sophora japonica, Wistaria floridunda and Vicia cracca belong, are exemplified.
In Group 3, those of the genus to which Canavalia ensiformis, Jack bean, Lens culinaris, Pisum sativum, Vicia faba, Cytisus sessilifolius, Labrurnum alpinum, Cerastrium fomentosus and Ulex europeus belong, are exemplified.
Among the above-mentioned dicotyledons, those of the genera to which Ulex europeus, Maackia amurensis, Glycine max, Jack bean and Lens culinaris belong, are preferred.
It is preferred to use the seeds of these plants.
The present substance can be obtained by extracting a plant of the class Dicotyledoneae with an aqueous solvent at 4
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