Native New Zealand plants with inhibitory activity towards Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract

BackgroundPlants have long been investigated as a source of antibiotics and other bioactives for the treatment of human disease. New Zealand contains a diverse and unique flora, however, few of its endemic plants have been used to treat tuberculosis. One plant, Laurelia novae-zelandiae, was reportedly used by indigenous Maori for the treatment of tubercular lesions.MethodsLaurelia novae-zelandiae and 44 other native plants were tested for direct anti-bacterial activity. Plants were extracted with different solvents and extracts screened for inhibition of the surrogate species, Mycobacterium smegmatis. Active plant samples were then tested for bacteriostatic activity towards M. tuberculosis and other clinically-important species.ResultsExtracts of six native plants were active against M. smegmatis. Many of these were also inhibitory towards M. tuberculosis including Laurelia novae-zelandiae (Pukatea). M. excelsa (Pohutukawa) was the only plant extract tested that was active against Staphylococcus aureus.ConclusionsOur data provide support for the traditional use of Pukatea in treating tuberculosis. In addition, our analyses indicate that other native plant species possess antibiotic activity.

Potency of extracts of selected plant species from Mbeere, Embu County-Kenya against Mycobacterium tuberculosis

“…This is believed to be true especially in the context of developing countries where there is little or no access to modern health services (Mann et al, 2007;Idu et al, 2010). The current study builds upon previous efforts in prospecting for antituberculosis activities among some traditional plants used in Eastern and Southern Africa (Tabuti et al, 2009;Earl et al, 2010;Mariita et al, 2010a). However, an important addition is that prior to conducting bioassays the main practitioners also known as herbalists were interrogated from whom identities of plants which have been used to manage "persistent coughs" was established.…”

Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Essential Oils Extracted from Plants Cultivated in Mexico

“…The analysis of rosemary EOs exhibited important differences in the concentration of the previously mentioned bioactive compounds [18][19][20] and the apparent most interesting area for growing rosemary for camphor production appeared to be Mexico with a concentration of 18.8%. Antibacterial activities -EOs have found medicinal applications as an alternative or parallel treatment for tuberculosis [21,22], cancer [23] or influenza [24] to name but a few [25].…”

Phytochemical screening of five medicinal legumes and their evaluation for in vitro anti-tubercular activity

“…Extracts of Citrus aurantifolia , Citrus sinensis and Olea europaea were found to be active against both drug-susceptible and drug-resistant strains of virulent M. tuberculosis with MICs ranging between 0.1 and 0.025 mg/ml. [ 17 ] There is a growing interest in identifying the compounds responsible for anti-mycobacterial activity of traditional medicine and developing them as potential TB drugs. [ 18 ] In the present scenario, drug resistance has become important medical crisis in many countries.…”