Medicinal Plants Classification Biosynthesis and ... - Index of

192
Jorge Castro-Garza, Delia E. Cruz-Vega and Ma. Teresa González-Garza
Tibetan traditional medicine reports the use of Gentianopsis paludosa against
mycobacteria. At least three dimethoxyxanthones extracted from G. paludosa have shown in
vitro growth inhibitory effects on mycobacteria [Yeung et al, 2009]. Compounds as 1-O-betad-glucopyranosyl-5-hydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone,1-O-[beta-d-xylopyranosyl-
(1 --> 6)-betad-glucopyranosyl]-7,8-dihydroxy-3-methoxyxanthone,
and apigenin have been identified
from this plant [Wang et al, 2007].
In a screening of plants from New Caledonia and Vanuatu, looking for antimicrobial
activity, Billo et al [2005] examined 55 extracts of 21 plants, including an endemic species:
Amborella thricopada. They found inhibitory activity against Mycobacterium bovis BCG
strain at a concentration of 100 mg/ml of the methanolic and dichloromethane extracts of
Amborella trichopoda, Codiaeum peltatum, Myristica fatua, and essential oils of Myoporum
crassifolium. While a very promising activity was found in the methanolic extract of
Amborella trichopoda fruits with a MIC of 1- 2.5 µg/ml.
Gautam et al [2007] reviewed 255 Indian plant species from a wide range of families that
have shown in vitro anti-mycobacterial activity and a number of active plant-derived
compounds belonging to different chemical classes that have been isolated. In this review, the
authors enumerated in a practical format the plants, plant part used, type of extract and in
vitro activity (MIC value) reported since 1935.
A very extensive work in a region, in order to find compounds with anti-mycobacterial
activity was performed by Graham et al [2003] on 270 Peruvian plants of 63 families. In this
study, half of the samples showed greater than 50% growth inhibition of M. tuberculosis at
50 µg/ml. The most promising were Senna silvestris (MIC: