Background: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU is an endemic disease in many communities in sub-Saharan Africa where population have long history of using medicinal plants for treatment. Indeed, several medicinal plants have been documented against BU and related conditions. The present study was undertaken to prove the efficacy of seven medicinal plants documented for the treatment of mycobacterial infections and related symptoms in Ghana.
Method: Antimycobacterial activity of the stem bark extracts and reference control drugs were conducted using the resazurin microtiter assay (REMA) assay method in clear round bottom 96-well microtiter plates. The extracts that showed anti-mycobacterium ulcerans activity were assessed for cytotoxicity using the Alamar blue assay.
Results: Overall, The Cryptolepis sanguinolenta root aqueous extract exhibited the highest antimycobacterial activity (MIC=64 μg/mL) followed by Cleistopholis patens (MIC=256 μg/mL). Based on the marked activity of the Cryptolepis sanguinolenta extracts, pure cryptolepine, its major metabolite recorded a MIC value of 32 μg/mL. These extracts with considerable antimycobacterial activity showed 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) ranging from 94 to 384 μg/mL.
Conclusions: Thus, Cleistopholis patens and Cryptolepis sanguinolenta are primed for further studies and could afford novel drugs for the mitigation of buruli ulcer disease.
Keywords: Antimycobacterial activity; Cleistopholis patens; Cryptolepis sanguinolenta; Mycobacterium ulcerans; cryptolepine; cytotoxicity.