title: Some Nigerian anti-tuberculosis ethnomedicines: a preliminary efficacy assessment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nigerian herbalists possess indigenous ethnomedicinal recipes for the management of tuberculosis and related ailments. A collaborative preliminary modern scientific evaluation of the efficacy of some Nigerian ethnomedicines used by traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) in the management of tuberculosis and related ailments has been carried out.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ethnomedicinal recipes (ETMs) were collected from TMPs from locations in various ecological zones of Nigeria under a collaborative understanding. The aqueous methanolic extracts of the ETMs were screened against Mycobacterium bovis, BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain H37Rv using the broth microdilution method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Extracts of ETMs screened against BCG showed 69% activity against the organism. The activities varied from weak, ≤2500 µg/mL to highly active, 33 µg/mL 64% of the extracts were active against Mycobacterium tuberculosis The activities of the extracts against Mycobacterium tuberculosis varied from weak, ≤2500 µg/mL to highly active, 128 µg/mL. There was 77% agreement in results obtained using BCG or Mycobacterium tuberculosis as test organisms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results show clear evidence for the efficacy of the majority of indigenous Nigerian herbal recipes in the ethnomedicinal management of tuberculosis and related ailments. BCG may be effectively used, to a great extent, as the organism for screening for potential anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis agents. A set of prioritization criteria for the selection of plants for initial further studies for the purpose of antituberculosis drug discovery research is proposed.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria; Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Nneka N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Ibekwe
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria; Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Nvau
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Peters O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Oladosu
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Auwal M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Usman
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Kolo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Research Section, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Helena I
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Boshoff
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Research Section, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA; 1Department of Chemistry, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Dowd
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria; Chemistry Division, Sheda Science and Technology Complex, Sheda, Abuja, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Abayomi T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Orisadipe
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olapeju
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aiyelaagbe
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Akinbo A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Adesomoju
authors.affiliation: Tuberculosis Research Section, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Clifton E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja, Nigeria; Pax Herbal Clinic & Research Laboratories, Benedictine Monastery, P. O. Box 150, Ewu-Esan, Edo State, Nigeria; Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Electronic address: jokogun@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Joseph I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Okogun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D003625:Data Collection; D020834:Ethnopharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016488:Medicine, African Traditional; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009163:Mycobacterium bovis / Q000187:drug effects*; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D009549:Nigeria; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: African ethnomedicines; Anti-Mycobacterium activity; Cough; M.bovis (BCG); M.tb.