title: Antiprotozoal and antimycobacterial activities of Persea americana seeds.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Persea americana seeds are widely used in traditional Mexican medicine to treat rheumatism, asthma, infectious processes as well as diarrhea and dysentery caused by intestinal parasites.
  
  
  METHODS
  The chloroformic and ethanolic extracts of P. americana seeds were prepared by maceration and their amoebicidal, giardicidal and trichomonicidal activity was evaluated. These extracts were also tested against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, four mono-resistant and two multidrug resistant strains of M. tuberculosis as well as five non tuberculosis mycobacterium strains by MABA assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The chloroformic and ethanolic extracts of P. americana seeds showed significant activity against E. histolytica, G. lamblia and T. vaginalis (IC50 <0.634 μg/ml). The chloroformic extract inhibited the growth of M. tuberculosis H37Rv, M. tuberculosis MDR SIN 4 isolate, three M. tuberculosis H37Rv mono-resistant reference strains and four non tuberculosis mycobacteria (M. fortuitum, M. avium, M. smegmatis and M. absessus) showing MIC values ≤50 μg/ml. Contrariwise, the ethanolic extract affected only the growth of two mono-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis H37Rv and M. smegmatis (MIC ≤50 μg/ml).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CHCl3 and EtOH seed extracts from P. americana showed amoebicidal and giardicidal activity. Importantly, the CHCl3 extract inhibited the growth of a MDR M. tuberculosis isolate and three out of four mono-resistant reference strains of M. tuberculosis H37Rv, showing a MIC = 50 μg/ml. This extract was also active against the NTM strains, M. fortuitum, M. avium, M. smegmatis and M. abscessus, with MIC values <50 μg/ml.
authors.forename: Adelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Arellanes
authors.forename: Julieta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luna-Herrera
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Nicolás
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cornejo-Garrido
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tapia
authors.forename: Lilián
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yépez-Mulia
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000994:Antitrichomonal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004748:Entamoeba histolytica / Q000187:drug effects*; D016829:Giardia lamblia / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008800:Mexico; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects; D027421:Persea; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012639:Seeds; D014246:Trichomonas vaginalis / Q000187:drug effects*; D018088:Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D000994:Antitrichomonal Agents; D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts