title: Antituberculosis potential of some ethnobotanically selected Malaysian plants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many local plants are used in Malaysian traditional medicine to treat respiratory diseases including symptoms of tuberculosis. The aim of the study was to screen 78 plant extracts from 70 Malaysian plant species used in traditional medicine to treat respiratory diseases including symptoms of tuberculosis for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using a colorimetric microplate-based assay.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plant extracts were prepared by maceration in methanol (80%) and antituberculosis screening was carried out using Tetrazolium bromide microplate assay (TEMA) method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-eight plant extracts from 36 plant species exhibited antituberculosis activity with MICs in the range of 1600-400 μg/ml. The leaf extract of Angiopteris evecta exhibited the highest activity with MIC of 400 μg/ml. Five other extracts, namely, Costus speciosus (stem and flower), Piper sarmentosum (whole plant), Pluchea indica (leaf), Pluchea indica (flower), and Tabernaemontana coronaria (leaf) exhibited antituberculosis activity, each with MIC of 800 μg/ml. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of in vitro high throughput screening of Malaysian medicinal plants for antituberculosis activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Antituberculosis activity of extracts of some plants justifies, to a certain extent their ethnomedicinal uses as remedies for symptoms of tuberculosis. These results also support the general view that, selecting the plants based on ethnobotanical criteria would enhance the probability of finding species with antituberculosis activity.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, 11800 Penang, Malaysia. suri@usm.my
authors.forename: Suriyati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mohamad
authors.forename: Nabihah Mohd
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Zin
authors.forename: Habibah A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Wahab
authors.forename: Pazilah
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Shaida Fariza
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.forename: Anis Safirah Mohd
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Zahariluddin
authors.forename: Siti Suraiya Md
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Noor
mesh_terms: D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts