Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is the principal cause of death worldwide due to an infectious agent,Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The search for new anti-TB drugs, especially from plants, is needed due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strains and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimycobacterial activity of the white poplar tree (Populus alba L.). The incorporation of aqueous and ethanol extracts into the agar medium have shown that extracts of this plant have an antimycobacterial effect against three mycobacteria growth. The disk diffusion method have shown that the ethyl acetate extracts, prepared according to the conventional and the soxhlet extraction methods, had a higher antimycobacterial effect.These results were confirmed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) followed by bioautography. This technique has allowed to localize the active substances from this plant which were responsible for this biological activity. The phytochemical tests carried out showed that these molecules correspond to flavonoids and polyphenols.

Key words: Tuberculosis, Populus alba, antimycobacterial activity.