Purified compounds and extracts from Euclea species with antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium bovis and fast-growing mycobacteria

Naphthoquinones and other compounds with antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis have previously been isolated from Euclea species. In this study, several constituents of Euclea natalensis and E. undulata, as well as organic extracts of the leaves, were assessed for efficacy against the zoonotic pathogen, Mycobacterium bovis. Also included in the battery of test organisms were M. bovis BCG and the fast-growing species M. smegmatis and M. fortuitum. The acetone extract of E. natalensis had potent activity against M. bovis (MIC=26 microg/ml). The naphthoquinone 7-methyljuglone was the most active compound, with an MIC as low as 1.55 microg/ml against pathogenic M. bovis. M. bovis BCG was not as susceptible to the test compounds as the pathogenic strain, but similar patterns of activity were observed between all the strains tested. M. smegmatis appeared to be a better predictor of antimycobacterial activity against pathogenic M. bovis (and M. tuberculosis), while MIC values obtained using M. fortuitum correlated well with those of M. bovis BCG.