Adverse drug reaction and resistance to antituberculosis drugs remain the causes of tuberculosis therapeutic failure. This research aimed to find the combination effect of standard antituberculosis drugs with Hibiscus sabdariffa L., Kaempferia galanga L., and Piper crocatum N.E. Br against multi-drug resistant (MDR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. Two MDR strains (i.e., isoniazid/ethambutol resistant and rifampicin/streptomycin resistant) of M. tuberculosis were inoculated in Löwenstein–Jensen medium containing a combination of standard antituberculosis drugs and ethanolic extracts of H. sabdariffa calyces, K. galanga rhizomes, and P. crocatum leaves using various concentration combinations of drug and extract. The colony numbers were observed for 8 weeks. The effect of the combination was analyzed using the proportion method which was calculated by the mean percentage of inhibition reduction in a number of colonies on drug–extract containing medium compared to extract-free control medium. The results showed that all three plant extracts achieved good combination effects with rifampicin against the rifampicin/streptomycin resistant strain. Antagonistic effects were, however, observed with streptomycin, ethambutol and isoniazid, therefore calling for caution when using these plants in combination with antituberculosis treatment.

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Sonchus arvensis L. leaves have been used traditionally to treat various disease conditions. This study is designed to evaluate cardioprotective potential of ethanol extract of S. arvensis leaves on isoproterenol-induced myocardial infarction in Wistar rat. Male Wistar albino rats were divided into three main groups: negative control (saline only), positive control (isoproterenol only), and S. arvensis extract treated groups. S. arvensis extract was administered in three doses; 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg b.w. p.o for 14 days. On day 13 and 14, isoproterenol (85 mg/kg bw) was given intraperitoneally to positive control and extract treated groups. The parameters studied were cardiac biomarker enzymes which were Creatine Kinase (CK), Creatine Kinase-MB (CK-MB), Aspartate Transaminase (AST), Alanine Transaminase (ALT) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH). The results showed that S. arvensis at dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. could significantly (P<0.05) reduce the level of CK, CK-MB, AST, ALT, and LDH in myocardial infarcted rats compared to positive control. The increase of the dose of S. arvensis extract was not followed by an increase of its cardioprotective activity. In conclusion, Sonchus arvensis L. leaves extract at dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. has potential to be developed as cardioprotective drug.

The study aimed to evaluate the cardioprotective role of Sonchus arvensis (Linn.) leaves in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction (MI) in Wistar rats and in the survival of cardiomyocytes in vitro upon starvation challenge. Fractions of an ethanolic extract of S. arvensis leaves (100 and 200 mg/kg bw) were administered orally to Wistar rats (250-300 g) for 14 days. Isoproterenol 85 mg/kg bw was given at day 13 and 14. The rats were then sacrificed on the next day. Serum activities of aspartate transferase (AST), alanine transferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured using standard commercial kits. The protective effect of S. arvensis on damaged cardiomyocytes was investigated by examining the cell survival. Furthermore, the Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) serum level of the MI rats was also determined. The results show that pretreatment with n-hexane and ethyl acetate fractions of S. arvensis for a period of 14 days could not attenuate the increase of AST, ALT, CK, CK-MB, and LDH levels upon isoproterenol administration. Moreover, viability of the fractions pretreatedcardiomyocytes showed a cardiotoxic effect. However, pretreatment with the water fraction significantly attenuated the increase of AST, ALT, CK, CK-MB, and LDH levels in isoproterenol-induced MI rats and increased the survival of cardiomyocytes upon starvation challenge. The increase of the TNF-α level upon ISO administration in rats was not observed in the water fraction pre-treatment group. In conclusion, the water fraction of Sonchus arvensis L. leaves at a dose of 100 mg/kg bw protects the myocardium and exerts cardioprotective effects, probably by inhibiting TNF-α production.

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