SFE-CO2 extracts and pure compounds showed an SI range from
0.6 to 1.0. SI is used to estimate the therapeutic window of a drug
and to identify drug candidates for further studies (Pavan et al.,
2011) and candidates for new drugs must have an SI equal to or
higher than 10 (Garcı´a et al., 2012; Orme, 2001). Because all the
SFE-CO2 extracts and pure compounds studied here exhibited no
therapeutic selectivity, a future line of research is to study their
action against cancerous tumors and the structure–activity by
changing radicals in the benzoic acid derivative. This is the first
report that shows a benzoic acid derivative (1) from P.
diopyrifolium leaves, as well as its anti-M. tuberculosis activity.
SFE-CO2 has proven to be an excellent tool for extraction of natural
products, with good yields and with fewer undesirable components.
Additional studies in mycobacteria other than tuberculosis
(MOTT) using extracts and the benzoic acid derivative (1), as well
as studies of structure–activity and the synergistic activity with
other antituberculous drugs, should be conducted for a better
evaluation of the anti-mycobacterial activity.