In vitro Antioxidant and Antimycobacterial Activity of Seeds of Piper long- um Linn: A comparative Study

tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. africanum and others, known collectively as the M. tuberculosis complex (MTC) [1]. M. tuberculosis is responsible for more human mortality than any other single microbial species [2]. According to estimates by World Health Organization (WHO), almost 9 million new cases and 1.4 million TB deaths occurred in 2011 [3]. Although there are effective anti-tubercular agents, the misuse of these drugs in addition to inconsistent or partial treatment have led to the development of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). The resistant strains coupled with drug hepatotoxicity and lengthy therapy paved the way for TB therapeutic crisis [4-7]. This situation presently acts as a serious challenge to the health care system. Thus it becomes necessary to prioritize the search for new antimycobacterial agents worldwide [8,9]. A number of extracts and isolated compounds from plants are being tested in this context. The literature reports the antimycobacterial activity of many classes of natural products such as alkanes, phenolics, acetogenic quinines, flavonoids and triterpenes [10,11]. Several researchers have studied the possible use of certain plant extracts in the treatment of TB [12]. In vitro Antioxidant and Antimycobacterial Activity of Seeds of Piper longum Linn: A comparative Study Barua CC1*, Singh A2, Sen S1, Barua AG2 and Barua IC3