ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the relationship between ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) fingerprints of Rheum species and their anti-HIV 1 activities.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Twenty two samples of 16 species belonging to genus Rheum from various sources were collected and analyzed in this study. Firstly they were assayed for the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) associated ribonuclease H (RNase H) activity. Secondly the fingerprints were established by an optimized UPLC method. Sample was analyzed by UPLC-TOF-MS/MS to identify major peaks. The possible relationship between UPLC fingerprints and anti-HIV 1 activities of Rheum species were deduced by mathematical statistics method.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Samples of R. austral, R. austral, R. hotaoense exhibited good anti-HIV 1 activities with IC50 < or = 0.2 mg x L(-1). The correlation of anti-HIV 1 activities and fingerprints showed that three compounds were the main bioactive components, and their retention times were 4.74, 7.99, 21.18 min, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds in Rheum species with possible anti-HIV 1 activities were deduced by spectrum-effect relationship study. This study supported for study of medicinal plants in Rheum.</p>