An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used locally for treating tuberculosis (TB) and other respiratory diseases was conducted from November 2004 to March 2005 in Niger State-Nigeria. The survey was aimed at identifying plants used in traditional medicine for treating TB and other pulmonary ailments in Niger State. Tuberculosis, cough, asthma, hemoptysis and bronchitis were the major ailments treated in this survey. The interviews were conducted among the traditional medical practitioners and herbal traders in both urban and rural areas of the state. It was observed that the use of traditional medicine for treating respiratory diseases was predominantly widespread in Niger State among all the ethnic groups and intertwines with orthodox medication. A total of 95 medicinal plants belonging to 48 families used in 86 herbal recipes were surveyed. In many recipes, admixtures of plants were used. A total of 12 different kinds of respiratory ailments were encountered in this study. The index of performance (Ip) was calculated for each plant species. The plants with high Ip are often confirmed to possess biologically active chemical substances in the literature. A good number of plants identified in this survey for treating tuberculosis with (Ip>O) have been reported to possess significant anti-tubercular activity. Therefore, further screening of those plants with high performance indices as sources of 'lead' for antitubercular agents is highly recommended.

Terminalia avicennioides is used to treat tuberculosis in the folk medicine of the Nupes of North Central Nigeria. Activity guided fractionation of the extract resulted in the isolation of triterpenoid friedelin. The structure of the isolated compound was elucidated with the aid of spectral comparison of IR, UV, one and two dimensional NMR experiments values. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time friedelin is reported from this plant. The in vitro antimycobacterial activity of the isolated compound (friedelin) was performed against Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) with MIC value at 4.9 μg/mL.

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Objective:The aim was to determine the chemical constituents and antimicrobial activity of the hexane leaf extract of Anisopus mannii against a wide range of human pathogenic microorganisms.Methods:The chemical constituents of the hexane leaf extract was determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis; and the antimicrobial activity was evaluated on “standard strains”, clinical susceptible and resistant bacterial and fungal isolates using the disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods.Results:GC-MS analysis of the hexane leaf extract revealed 32 compounds, representing 73.8% of the identified components. The major compounds were hexadecanoic acid, ethyl ester (34%), oxirane, hexadecyl- (11%) and 9, 12, 15-octadecatrienoic acid, ethyl ester, (Z, Z, Z) (9.6%). Results from the antimicrobial activity demonstrated higher inhibition zones against Bacillus cereus (29 mm), followed by Streptococcus pyogenes (28 mm). Other notable inhibitions were observed with Enterococcus faecalis (27 mm), Proteus vulgaris (26 mm) and MRSA (25 mm). The MIC values ranged from 0.625 mg/mL to 1.25 mg/mL while the MBC/MFC values ranged from 2.5 mg/mL to 5.0 mg/mL.Conclusion:These results support the traditional use of the plant and demonstrate the huge potential of A. mannii as a source of antimicrobial compounds.

Ten Nigerian medicinal plants Abrus precatorius, Annona senegalensis, Anogeissus leiocarpus, Crateva adansonii, Detarium microcarpum, Faba spp, Neocarya macrophylla, Ocimum gratissimum, Securidaca longpenduculata and Terminalia avicennioides used by traditional medicine practitioners for the management of infectious and chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and whooping cough were investigated for in vitro antimycobacterial activity against attenuated strains of Mycobacterium bovis (BCG). Hexane and methanol extracts of the plant materials were obtained by maceration. The antimycobacterial activity was determined by the broth microdilution method. The hexane extracts of Anogeissus leiocarpus and Terminalia avicennioides showed strong inhibitory activity at 312µg/ml. Eight of the ten plant extracts showed moderate inhibitory activity in either hexane or methanol extract at 1250µg/ml. While the hexane and methanol extracts of Detarium microcarpum and Neocarya macrophylla did not exhibit any significant activity. These observed activities could be associated with secondary metabolites in these plants. This study demonstrates the efficacy of Nigerian medicinal plants as potential agents in the management of the tuberculosis disease.