In vitro antimycobacterial studies of flavonols from Bauhinia vahlii Wight and Arn.

Mycobacterial infections and fast-growing strains are increasing globally with 8 million new cases and 1.8 million fatalities per annum worldwide. The acid-fast bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.t), can spread diseases like tuberculosis (Tb) and weaken the immune system. In Ayurveda, the Bauhinia genus is most valued for the treatment of tuberculosis lymphadenitis. The objective of the present study is to identify anti-tubercular compounds from the under-investigated medicinal plant B. vahlii Wight and Arn. using bioassay guided isolation. The antimycobacterial activity was evaluated against non-virulent strains: Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra (ATCC 25177) and Mycobacterium bovis BCG (ATCC 35743). Also, antibacterial and cytotoxicity activities were tested to identify the specificity of the isolated metabolites. Bioassay-guided isolation yielded three known flavonols, namely quercetin (1), ombuin (2), and kaempferol (3), from the methanolic extract of bark of B. vahlii. The results of antimycobacterial activity tests revealed that 2 showed much better mycobactericidal activity than 1 and 3 under ex vivo condition with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 0.05 ± 0.01 to 0.26 ± 0.01 nM, and half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values ranged from 2.85 ± 0.14 to 7.21 ± 1.09 nM against dormant and active forms, respectively. Also, compound 2 showed higher resistance with MIC values > 100 μg/mL against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and the least cytotoxicity up to 100 μg/mL concentration against the tested series of cancer cell lines. The results revealed the Ayurvedic use of extracts of the Bauhinia genus for treating tuberculosis, and the key bioactive compounds were found to be flavonols (1-3). The present work provides the first evidence for the presence of antimycobacterial compounds in B. vahlii. Supplementary information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-02672-4.