Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible for over 8 million cases of
tuberculosis (TB) annually. Natural products may play important roles
in the chemotherapy of TB. The immunological activity of Davilla
elliptica chloroform extract (DECE) was evaluated in vitro by the
determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), nitric oxide (NO), and tumor
necrosis factor-a (TNF-α) release in peritoneal macrophages
cultures. DECE was also tested for its antimycobacterial activity
against M. tuberculosis using the microplate alamar blue assay. DECE
(50, 150, 250 μg/ml) stimulated the production of H2O2 (from 1,79
± 0,23 to 7,27 ± 2,54; 15,02 ± 2,86; 20,5 ± 2,1
nmols) (means ± SD), NO (from 2,64 ± 1,02 to 25,59 ±
2,29; 26,68 ± 2,41; 29,45 ± 5,87 μmols) (means ±
SD) and TNF-α (from 2,44 ± 1,46 to 30,37 ± 8,13; 38,68
± 1,59; 41,6 ± 0,90 units/ml) (means ± SD) in a
dose-dependent manner and also showed a promising antimycobacterial
activity with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 62,5 μg/ml.
This plant may have therapeutic potential in the immunological and
microbiological control of T