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BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies
Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

Extracts of six Rubiaceae species combined with rifampicin have good in vitro synergistic antimycobacterial activity and good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities

Authors: Abimbola O. Aro, Jean P. Dzoyem, Jacobus N. Eloff, Lyndy J. McGaw

Published in: BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies | Issue 1/2016

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Abstract

Background

The Rubiaceae family has played a significant role in drug discovery by providing molecules with potential use as templates for the development of therapeutic drugs. This study was designed to study the in vitro synergistic effect of six Rubiaceae species in combination with a known anti-TB drug. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of these species were also evaluated to investigate additional benefits in antimycobacterial treatment.

Methods

The checkerboard method was used to determine the antimycobacterial synergistic activity of plant extracts combined with rifampicin. The antioxidant activity of extracts was determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. Anti-inflammatory activity via inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production was performed in LPS-activated RAW 264.7 macrophages using the Griess assay.

Results

Combination of rifampicin with the crude extracts resulted in a 4 to 256-fold increase of activity of extracts. The crude extract of Cremaspora triflora produced the best synergistic effect with rifampicin, with a fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of 0.08 against Mycobacterium aurum. Extracts of Psychotria zombamontana had the best antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 1.77 μg/mL, lower than the IC50 of trolox and ascorbic acid (5.67 μg/mL and 4.66 μg/mL respectively). All the extracts tested inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in a concentration dependent manner with the percentage of inhibition varying from 6.73 to 86.27 %.

Conclusion

Some of the Rubiaceae species investigated have substantial in vitro synergistic effects with rifampicin and also good free radical scavenging ability and anti-inflammatory activity. These preliminary results warrant further study on these plants to determine if compounds isolated from these species could lead to the development of bioactive compounds that can potentiate the activity of rifampicin even against resistant mycobacteria.
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Metadata
Title
Extracts of six Rubiaceae species combined with rifampicin have good in vitro synergistic antimycobacterial activity and good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities
Authors
Abimbola O. Aro
Jean P. Dzoyem
Jacobus N. Eloff
Lyndy J. McGaw
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 2662-7671
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-016-1355-y

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