title: In vitro and in vivo antimycobacterial activity of an antihypertensive agent methyl-L-DOPA.
abstract: 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).
authors.affiliation: Division of Microbiology, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, 700 032, India.
authors.forename: Noton Kumar
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.forename: Kaushiki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mazumdar
authors.forename: Sujata G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Dastidar
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Chakrabarty
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shirataki
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Motohashi
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D007980:Levodopa; C035420:levodopa methyl ester