Project No. : AS-01/2010-11
Year. : 2010-11
Project Title: Isolation, purification and activity against Mycobacterium species from some medicinal plants of North – East India
State: Assam
Theme: Pharmacognosy/ Phyto-chemistry
Plant species: Achyranthes aspera , Adhatoda vasica , Allium sativum , Amaranthus spinosus , Andrographis paniculata , Asparagus racemosus , Camellia sinensis , Cannabis sativa , Clerodendrum colebrookianum , Costus speciosus , Enhydra fluctuans , Jatropha gossypifolia , Jatropha macrantha , Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus , Ricinus communis , Sapindus mukorossi , Syzygium aromaticum , Syzygium cumini , Trapa natans
Principal Investigator & Organization : Prof. A.K. Buragohain, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tezpur University, Napaam, Teexpur, Dist. Sonitpur – 784028, Assam
Status: Closed
Summary of Project / Major Outcome /Achievements : The aim of the said project was preparation and standardization of plant extracts with potential activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB)- the causative organism of TB, by assaying the same against the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis. In-depth documentation of the traditional knowledge of medicinal plants used for the treatment of MTB in some ethnic communities of Assam and the North-East was first compiled. Three hundred plant extracts from different angiospermic plant species were thereafter screened for their antimycobacterial activity against M. smegmatis ATCC 14468. The top five plants species identified on the basis of both the highest antimycobacterial activity as well as lack of cytotoxicity were Trapa natans, Achyranthes aspera, Phlogacanthus thyrsiflorus, Syzigium aromaticum, Andrographis paniculata. These plant species served as candidates for partial purification of their extracts and consequent preparation of concoctions. GC-MS analyses of the fractions were thereafter employed to identify the probable compounds present in the positive fractions. Eight antimycobacterial compounds viz. Ferullic acid, Palmitic acid, Apigenin, Capric Acid, Resorcinol, Eugenol, Squalene and Tannic acid were thus identified from the purified fractions. The antimycobacterial property of these fractions was further confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of the M. smegmatis cells treated by the same. Fifteen different combinations of the fractions were also obtained from the combinatorial study which exhibited synergistic anti-mycobacterial activity.
