Planta Med 2012; 78 - CL63
DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1320298

Anti-mycobacterial natural products from canadian traditionally used medicinal plants and their endophytic fungi

CA Gray 1, 2, JA Johnson 2, D Webster 3
  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, E2L 4L5
  • 2Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, E2L 4L5
  • 3Department of Infectious Disease, Saint John Regional Hospital, Horizon Health Network, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, E2L 4L2

Whilst multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis have been recognised as serious global health concerns for some time, recent media reports of "extremely drug resistant" (XXDR) and "totally drug resistant" (TDR) tuberculosis have confirmed that new anti-mycobacterial drug leads are still urgently required. We have identified 12 medicinal plants traditionally used by the First Nations of the Canadian Maritime Provinces that have reported ethnopharmacological uses relating to the treatment of tuberculosis or its related symptoms. A total of 97 strains of endophytic fungi have been isolated from the 12 plants and extracts of the plants and the fungi have been screened for anti-mycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra. This presentation will highlight some of the research currently being conducted by the UNB Natural Products Research Group focused on the isolation of new anti-mycobacterial natural products from these Canadian traditionally used medicinal plants and their associated fungal endophytes.