A traditional Chinese medicinal capsule capable of treating HIV/AIDS has been put under clinical test with the approval of the State Food and Drug Administration.

Chen Dagang, inventor of the capsule and leader in charge of the clinical test, said the clinical test had been carried out in a number of medical establishments in Beijing, including You'an Hospital, the No. 302 Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Ditan Hospital since July 7, and the test would be completed in nine months.

Pre-stage research in the past five years proves that the capsule, made from 16 kinds of medicinal herbs, is capable of restraining HIV integration enzyme from outside the human body and curbing the virus from duplication inside the infected cell, according to Chen.

Integration enzyme is the third essential element for HIV duplication, or in other words, HIV without integration enzyme is not infectious, said Chen, adding that his capsule, like any other synthetic drugs, had to overcome drug-resistant substance occurring in the process of usage as of the first-generation anti-retrovirus medicine, which might gradually lead to a weakened treatment effect.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2005)