Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026
07:50
Assay Development for High-Throughput Drug Screening Against Mycobacteria
Published on: October 25, 2024
Recent advances in antitubercular natural products
Abraham García1, Virgilio Bocanegra-García, Jose Prisco Palma-Nicolás
1Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. edgar.garciazp@uanl.edu.mx
European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
|January 28, 2012
Summary
Natural products show promise for treating tuberculosis (TB), including drug-resistant strains. Research highlights compounds with significant in vitro activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, offering new therapeutic avenues.
Area of Science:
- Natural Product Chemistry
- Microbiology
- Medicinal Chemistry
Background:
- Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health crisis, with increasing multi-drug resistant strains.
- Existing antitubercular drugs have limitations, driving the search for novel treatments.
- Natural products offer a diverse source of potential antitubercular compounds.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent natural products with in vitro activity against sensitive and resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains.
- To categorize these compounds by origin and chemical structure.
- To highlight natural products targeting specific M. tuberculosis genes or enzymes.
Main Methods:
- Literature search of the last five years for natural products exhibiting antitubercular activity.
- Selection of compounds with minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) below 50 μg/mL or 60 μM.
- Inclusion of relevant natural products with lower bioactivity (MICs ≤128 μg/mL) and semisynthetic derivatives (MICs ≤10 μg/mL).
Main Results:
- Hundreds of natural products with diverse structures show in vitro activity against M. tuberculosis.
- Compounds were classified by source (plants, bacteria, fungi, marine) and type (terpenes, alkaloids, flavonoids, etc.).
- Specific natural products targeting M. tuberculosis genes/enzymes were identified.
Conclusions:
- Natural products represent a valuable resource for discovering new antitubercular agents.
- Further research into these compounds could lead to novel therapies for drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB.
- Targeted natural products offer potential for developing new mechanisms of action against M. tuberculosis.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:28Pulmonary Tuberculosis V
Medical management of tuberculosis (TB) patients involves a comprehensive approach that includes diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring. The specific strategies can vary depending on the type of tuberculosis (latent or active), the patient's overall health status, and other considerations.
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the progression...
Latent tuberculosis infection occurs when TB bacteria are present in a person's body, but are not causing illness or symptoms. It is not contagious, and preventive treatment is crucial to avoid the progression...
01:15Anthelminthic Agents
Anthelmintic drugs differ significantly from antiparasitic therapies targeting protozoa, primarily due to differences in parasite biology. Whereas most protozoal treatments act on proliferating cells, anthelmintics are typically directed against mature, nonproliferative helminths. The therapeutic approach considers the helminth's reliance on neuromuscular coordination, glucose metabolism, and microtubular integrity for survival, reproduction, and localization within the host. Most anthelmintics...
01:15Drugs that Stabilize Microtubules
Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo cycles of catastrophe and rescue. The microtubules play a central role in cell division by forming the spindle apparatus for segregating the chromosomes. This makes them ideal targets for regulating dividing cells in tumors and malignant cancer cells. Microtubule stabilizing drugs help stabilize the microtubule formation and promote its polymerization. Paclitaxel was the first microtubule stabilizing agent used as anticancer drug in chemotherapy...
01:15Antifungal Agents
Amphotericin B is a broad-spectrum antifungal agent that exploits structural differences between fungal and mammalian cell membranes. Its amphipathic structure—featuring a hydrophobic polyene-lactone ring and a hydrophilic region containing mycosamine and carboxylic acid groups—enables selective binding to ergosterol, a sterol predominantly found in fungal plasma membranes. This selective interaction underlies the drug’s antifungal activity, although weak binding to cholesterol contributes to...
01:27Combined Effects of Drugs: Synergism
Synergism is a useful mechanism where combining two or more drugs is more effective than each constituent used alone. Such combinations are also called supra-additive interactions. The drugs collectively enhance the final therapeutic effect by acting on different targets. Another advantage is that the low dose of each constituent drug is sufficient to achieve the desired effect. This helps reduce the duration of therapy and lower the adverse effects of these drugs.
Such synergistic combinations...
Such synergistic combinations...
01:10Drugs that Destabilize Microtubules
Microtubules are dynamic structures and can be regulated by microtubule targeting agents (MTAs). Microtubule destabilizing drugs are a class of MTAs that destabilize and prevent microtubules' polymerization. Both natural and synthetic chemicals can be found under this class of drugs. Vincristine and vinblastine, two vinca alkaloids, and colchicine were among the first to be discovered. These drugs can affect cells in various ways, either by inducing a change in cell morphology, preventing...