Antimycobacterial activity of chemically defined natural substances from the Caribbean flora in Guadeloupe

Abstract

Eight chemically defined, naturally occurring compounds were extracted from the tropical flora of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe: pilocarpine, an alkaloid from Pilocarpus racemosus ; heraclenol and isomeranzin, coumarins from Triphasia trifolia; lochnerin, an indole alkaloid from Rauwolfia biauriculata; ibogaine and voacangine, indole alkaloids from Tabernaemontana citrifolia ; texalin, an oxazole from Amyris elemifera; and canellal, a sesquiterpene dialdehyde from Canella winterana. An essential oil fraction from Canella winterana was also tested. The antimycobacterial activity of these substances was tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. avium and M. kansasii using the Middlebrook 7H11 agar medium, the Bactec 460-TB radiometric methodology, and determination of bacterial viable counts. Three compounds, namely ibogaine, voacangine and texalin, showed antimycobacterial activity. Investigations on the structure-modification and structure-activity relationships of these compounds may help determine new targets for future drug development. z 1998 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.

Antimycobacterial evaluation and preliminary phytochemical investigation of selected medicinal plants traditionally used in Mozambique

“…It has been used in treatment of muscular and nervous asthma, respiratory depression and type III poliovirus (HPV-3). Consistently, another two indole alkaloids, ibogaine and voacangine, isolated from another member of Tabernaemontana genus (T. citrifolia) have been reported for their antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv (MIC 50 g/mL) (Rastogi et al, 1998). In addition, the aqueous extract of the roots of Tabernaemontana elegans was also found to be active against Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 14468 at MIC 1 mg/mL, and the presence of alkaloids was detected by a preliminary phytochemical study (Pallant and Steenkamp, 2008).…”

Effect of an alkaloidal fraction of Tabernaemontana elegans (Stapf.) on selected micro-organisms

“…Isolated alkaloids from various Tabernaemontana species: conoduramine, conodurine, and voacamine, possess strong antibacterial activity against Grampositive bacteria (Van Beek et al, 1984;1985). The alkaloids ibogamine and voacangine have proven antimycobacterial activity (Rastogi et al, 1998). None of these compounds, however, have been previously identified in T. elegans, suggesting that the pharmacophore responsible for the antibacterial activity may be common to a number of alkaloids in this genus.…”

Phytochemical Composition of <i>Tridax procumbens</i> Linn Leaves: Potential as a Functional Food

“…Voacangine has been reported to have cardiovascular toning, central nervous system depressant, anti-convulsive, anti-pyretic, analgesic, local anesthetic, acetyl cholinesterase inhibitory [82], anti-angiogenic [83] and anti-mycobacterial [84] activities. Studies have shown that echitamine has diuretic, hypotensive [85], central nervous system depressant and antiepileptic [86] properties.…”