Antimycobacterial activity of extracts from Cissus incisa leaves on multi-drug resistant strain

The Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is considered a public health crisis and a threat to health security. The multi-resistant form can be treated and cured with second-line medications. However, second-line treatment options are limited and require long-term chemotherapy (up to two years of treatment) with drugs that, besides being expensive, are toxic. Thus, the need to find new antimicrobial agents to cope with this phenomenon increases. In this sense, the exploration of natural plants is valuable. Natural products from plants could be interesting alternatives. Some plant extracts are known to have antimycobacterial properties, and can be of great significance in therapeutic treatments. We carried out the study of antimycobacterial activity of Cissus incisa leaves. Three extracts were prepared from the leaves of this plant: hexane, chloroform methanol (1:1) and aqueous. Their antitubercular activities were evaluated using Alamar Blue assay. The hexane and chloroform/methanol extracts were the most active, with MIC values between 125-250 μg/mL. Until our knowledge, there are no studies to support the traditional use of this plant in relation to the mycobacterial infection diseases. This research contributes both to the knowledge of the Mexican flora, as well as the discovery of potential antibacterial agents derived from plants.