IN VITRO STUDY OF URSOLIC ACID COMBINATION FIRST-LINE ANTITUBERCULOSIS DRUGS AGAINST DRUG-SENSITIVE AND DRUG-RESISTANT STRAINS OF Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Abstract

Objective: The resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium TB (MTB) is associated with the rapid spread of multidrug-resistant,therefore, the development of new antimycobacterial agents is necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimycobacterial activity ofursolic acid (UA) when it using alone and combination with TB drugs.Methods: MTB H37Rv strain, streptomycin-rifampicin resistant strain, and isoniazid-ethambutol resistant strain were evaluated by susceptibility testusing a serial number of UA (25-150 µg/mL). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was read as minimum concentration of drugs that completelyinhibit visible growth of organism. Activities of drug combination of UA with TB drug were determined in Lowenstein-Jensen media by calculatingthe fractional inhibitory concentration index.Results: The results showed that MIC of UA was 50 µg/mL against three different strains of MTB. The combination of UA and TB drugs displayedsynergistic interaction, and no antagonism result from the combination was observed for strains of MTB.Conclusion: These results indicate that UA may serve as a promising lead compound for future antimycobacterial drug development.Keywords: Ursolic acid, Tuberculosis, Drug combination, Susceptibility test