Utilization of Natural Compounds for Treatment of Tuberculosis-I

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a highly communicable disease which affects the lungs but if left untreated can also spread to brain or spine. According to the World Health Organization, TB is considered as one of the top ten causes of death throughout the world with ten million cases reported annually. Although TB occurs in most parts of the world yet two thirds of the new cases reported, happened in India, China, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, and South Africa. TB is treated with a combination of antibiotics which has to be consumed by patients over a year or more. At present the drugs and vaccines available for treatment of TB has no significant effect on controlling the disease due to the occurrence of multiple drug-resistant (Mdr) strains. Hence, this created an urgent need to develop drugs of natural origin. Drugs from natural sources have exceptionally rich chemical diversity and a wide spectrum antimicrobial activity. The current chapter states the recent developments that had occurred in the treatment of TB using natural compounds and also discusses the various natural anti-mycobacterial compounds.