In vitro and in vivo antimycobacterial activity of an antihypertensive agent methyl-L-DOPA.
Methyl-L-DOPA, an antihypertensive agent, has significant in vitro activity against a variety of atypical mycobacteria such as the Mycobacterium avium complex, M. scrofulaceum, M. xenopi and M. marinum, and rare pathogens like M. fortuitum. In the present investigation, the screening of the in vitro activity was further extended by testing the in vitro activity against a total of 53 different strains of mycobacteria, including 34 clinical isolates of both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Most of the strains were inhibited at 10-25 microg/mL concentrations of the drug. When methyl-L-DOPA was injected into male mice at a concentration of 10 microg/g body weight (20 g each), methyl-L-DOPA significantly protected them when challenged with a 50 median lethal dose of M. tuberculosis H37Rv102. According to the chi2 test, the in vivo data were highly significant (p<0.01).
Dutta
Noton Kumar
NK
Division of Microbiology, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, 700 032, India.
Mazumdar
Kaushiki
K
Dastidar
Sujata G
SG
Chakrabarty
A N
AN
Shirataki
Yoshiaki
Y
Motohashi
Noboru
N
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D006801:Humans; D007980:Levodopa / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000188:drug therapy
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D007980:Levodopa; C035420:levodopa methyl ester