A Review of the Potential of Poly-(lactide-co-glycolide) Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for an Active Antimycobacterial Compound, 7-Methyljuglone

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Anda

7-Methyljuglone (7-MJ) is a natural antimycobacterial compound isolated from the roots of Euclea natalensis. It shows strong promise against Mycobacterium tuberculosis and therefore may contribute to tuberculosis (TB) treatment. However, reported in vitro cytotoxicity in multiple cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines raises safety concerns. This review evaluates whether poly-(lactide-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles can deliver 7-MJ effectively while reducing in vitro cytotoxicity.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Impact of COVID-19 on TB

Delivery system rationale

Nanoparticles for natural product loading

7-Methyljuglone and safety considerations

pharmaceutics Review A Review of the Potential of Poly-(lactide-co-glycolide) Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for an Active Antimycobacterial Compound, 7-Methyljuglone Bianca Diedericks 1, Anna-Mari Kok 1,2, Vusani Mandiwana 3 and Namrita Lall 1,4,5,6, * Citation: Diedericks, B.; Kok, A.-M.; Mandiwana, V.; Lall, N. A Review of the Potential of Poly-(lactide -co-glycolide) Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for an Active Antimycobacterial Compound, 7-Methyljuglone. Pharmaceutics 2024, 16, 216. [https://doi.org/10.3390/](https://doi.org/10.3390/)[ ](https://doi.org/10.3390/)pharmaceutics16020216 Academic Editors: Clive Prestidge, Pascaline N. Fru and Mohammed Balogun Received: 4 December 2023 Revised: 15 January 2024 Accepted: 30 January 2024 Published: 1 February 2024 Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([https://](https://)[ ](https://)[creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[ ](creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)[4.0/](4.0/)) . 1 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; [u17023409@tuks.co.za](u17023409@tuks.co.za) (B.D.); [annamarikok@gmail.com](annamarikok@gmail.com) (A.-M.K.) 2 Research Fellow, South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI), Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha 6019, South Africa 3 Chemicals Cluster, Centre for Nanostructures and Advanced Materials, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South Africa; [vmandiwana@csir.co.za](vmandiwana@csir.co.za) 4 School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA 5 College of Pharmacy, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru 643001, India 6 Senior Research Fellow, Bio-Tech R&D Institute, University of the West Indies, Kingston IAU-016615, Jamaica * [Correspondence: namrita.lall@up.ac.za](Correspondence: namrita.lall@up.ac.za); Tel.: +27-12-420-2524 Abstract: 7-Methyljuglone (7-MJ) is a pure compound isolated from the roots of Euclea natalensis A. DC., a shrub indigenous to South Africa. It exhibits significant promise as a potential treatment for the highly communicable disease tuberculosis (TB), owing to its effective antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Despite its potential therapeutic benefits, 7-MJ has demonstrated in vitro cytotoxicity against various cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines, raising concerns about its safety for consumption by TB patients. Therefore, this review focuses on exploring the potential of poly-(lactide-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles as a delivery system, which has been shown to decrease in vitro cytotoxicity, and 7-MJ as an effective antimycobacterial compound. Keywords: tuberculosis (TB); antimycobacterial; cytotoxicity; 7-methyljuglone; poly-(lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA); nanoparticle 1. Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a complex and communicable disease that was the global primary source of death caused by a solitary infectious agent, which ranked above human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) until 2019, when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic broke out [1,2] . The COVID-19 pandemic has since caused a significant setback to the many years of headway in providing vital TB services and lowering the disease burden [2] . Using natural products, such as plants, as alternative therapies may assist in improving the therapeutic efficacy and, in some cases, can decrease some of the side effects experienced due to conventional drugs [3,4] . Medicinal plants are often promoted as natural and therefore harmless, which is true in most cases; however, they are not always free from adverse effects or toxicity [5] . Many very activ

FAQs

What is 7-Methyljuglone (7-MJ) and why is it relevant to TB treatment?

7-MJ is a natural compound isolated from Euclea natalensis and shows antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, making it a promising candidate for TB therapy.

Why does the review address safety concerns about 7-MJ?

In vitro cytotoxicity has been observed against various cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines, which raises concerns about consumption safety for TB patients.

How do PLGA nanoparticles relate to improving 7-MJ delivery?

The review explores PLGA nanoparticles as a delivery system shown to decrease in vitro cytotoxicity, aiming to improve the therapeutic profile of 7-MJ as an active antimycobacterial compound.

Sep 21, 2026

Upload by Anda