Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a common deadly infectious disease and worldwide a major health problem. The current study was therefore designed to investigate the
in vitro
antimycobacterial activity of different extracts of
Alpinia galanga
and
Tinospora cordifolia
. Moreover, a safety assessment for both plants was carried out. Dichloromethane and ethanolic extracts of each plant were examined against H37Rv INH-sensitive and resistant INH strains of
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
. The safety assessment of both plants has been performed through
in vivo
acute and chronic toxicity studies in animal model. Body weight, food consumption, water intake, organ’s weight, and haematological and biochemical parameters of blood and serum were evaluated. The extracts of
A. galanga
and
T. cordifolia
produced significant and dose-dependent inhibitory activity with maximum effect of 18-32% at 50
μ
g/ml against both strains of
M. tuberculosis
. No effect on the body weight or food and water consumption was observed but
A. galanga
caused significantly an increase in the relative weight of the heart, liver, spleen, and kidney. Haematological studies of both plants revealed a slight but significant fall in the RBC and WBC level as well as haemoglobin and platelets. In addition,
A. galanga
extracts increased significantly liver enzymes and bilirubin and glucose.