Assessment of the anti-mycobacterial activity of selected Congolese medicinal plants

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that kills nearly 3 million people annually worldwide. The emergence of multidrug resistant and lengthy therapy reduces the patient compliance which comprises control strategies. In this study, the leaves of T. ivorensis, C. procera, F. macrophylla, A. occidentale, Ficus spp. and Drepanoalpha were extracted with different solvents to assess the anti-mycobacterial activity against M. tuberculosis H37Rv and M. tuberculosis spp. on LJ medium and Middlebrook 7H10 agar. The growth determined the activity of extracts and these were screened for the presence of phytochemicals. These extracts were found to be active against mycobacteria culture strains in Middlebrook 7H10 agar than in LJ slants. The presence of phytochemicals like flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids known to be of medicinal relevance points out a possible source for anti-mycobacterial agents to address the problem of multidrug resistance. The in vitro findings of this study provided a partial support for the use of these plants in the management of various infectious diseases as lead to drug discovery and should be reiterated and recommended for the in vivo study using an animal model.