In Vitro Anti Tubercular Activity of Leaves of Aerva lanata L.

Aerva lanata is broadly utilized in urinary issues in Southern part of India as a source of Pashana bheda. A member of Amaranthaceae that is normally known as Gorakha ganja, it is usually located on mountains as weed. Many researches have been carried out to elicit the diuretic and anti-urolithic interest of this plant. It also has been verified for other pharmacological activities like anti-helminthic, anti-hyperglycemic, anti-oxidant, anti-diarrheal, and analgesic. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethanolic and dichloromethane extracts of leaves of Aerva lanata for their anti-tubercular activity. The anti-tubercular activity of both extracts of Aerva lanata has been evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H73Rv strain using microplate alamar blue assay (MABA). The activity was documented within MIC range of 0.8 to 100 μg/ml. The results of MABA showed that the dichloromethane extract exhibited remarkable anti-tubercular activity with a MIC comparable to streptomycin. It is recommended to isolate the specific phytochemicals responsible for anti-tubercular activity as an alternative source of drug to treat tuberculosis.