Anti-mycobacterium tuberculosis activity of polyherbal medicines used  for the treatment of tuberculosis in Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Elizabeth B Famewo, Anna M Clarke, Ian Wiid, Andile Ngwane, Paul van Helden, Anthony J Afolayan
1. Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa
2. DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Biomedical Tuberculosis Research, SAMRC Centre for Tuberculosis Research,
Division of Molecular Biology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, PO Box 241, Cape Town 8000, South Africa.
Author details
efamewo@ufh.ac.za
aclarke@ufh.ac.za
iw@sun.ac.za
ngwane@sun.ac.za
pvh@sun.ac.za
Afolayanaafolayan@ufh.ac.za

Abstract
Background: The emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosishas become a global public health problem. Polyherbal medicines offer great hope for developing alternative drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis.

Objective: To evaluate the anti-tubercular activity of polyherbal medicines used for the treatment of tuberculosis.

Methods: The remedies were screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosisH37Rv using Middlebrook 7H9 media and MGIT BACTEC 960system. They were liquid preparations from King Williams Town site A (KWTa), King Williams Town site B (KWTb),  King Williams Town site C (KWTc), Hogsback first site (HBfs), Hogsback second site (HBss), Hogsback third site (HBts), East London (EL), Alice (AL) and Fort Beaufort (FB).

Results: The susceptibility testing revealed that all the remedies contain anti-tubercular activity with KWTa, KWTb, KWTc,  HBfs, HBts, AL and FB exhibiting more activity at a concentration below 25 µl/ml. Furthermore, MIC values exhibited inhibitory activity with the most active remedies from KWTa, HBfs and HBts at 1.562 µg/ml. However, isoniazid showed more  inhibitory activity against M. tuberculosis at 0.05 µg/ml when compare to the polyherbal remedies.

Conclusion: This study has indicated that these remedies could be potential sources of new anti-mycobacterial agents against  M. tuberculosis. However, the activity of these preparations and their active principles still require in vivo study in order to assess
their future as new anti-tuberculosis agents.

Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis; in vitro activity, polyherbal medicines, South Africa.