Screening of some Iranian medicinal plants for anti-tuberculosis, anti- bacterial, and cytotoxic activities

The anti-bacterial, anti-tuberculosis, and cytotoxic activities of the methanol-dichloromethane extracts of aerial parts and/or roots of nine medicinal plants (Amberboa amberboi L., Euphorbia boisseriana, Euphorbia microsciadia, Euphorbia spinidens, Salvia perspolitana, Seratula latifulia, Anabasis aphylla L., Echinops ritrodes L. and Hypericum scabrum L.) were screened. Evaluation of the anti-bacterial effects of extracts was performed by broth microdilution method. Resazorin microtiter assay (REMA) was used for the anti-mycobacterial activity, while AlamarBlue (R) assay was applied for cytotoxicity evaluation. Of the tested extracts, H. scabrum was found to exhibit potentially significant activity against Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, and S. typhimurium with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 3.9 mg/mL for all, as well as moderate cytotoxic-ity against human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7), adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A-549), and human prostate cancer cell line (PC-3) with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 14.21-39.77 mg/mL. Moreover, H. scabrum and E. ritrodes moderately inhibited the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) H37Rv with an MIC of 12.5 mg/mL. It seems that H. scabrum extract holds promise to be con-sidered for development of novel agents against the mentioned bacteria and Mtb.(c) 2023 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The methanol-dichloromethane extracts of nine medicinal plants were screened for their antibacterial, anti-tuberculosis, and cytotoxic activities. Among them, Hypericum scabrum extract showed significant activity against several bacteria and moderate cytotoxicity against certain cancer cell lines. It also exhibited moderate inhibition against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The extract of Hypericum scabrum holds promise for the development of novel agents against bacteria and tuberculosis.