ARS | Publication request: ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL PLANT TERPENOIDS

Submitted to: Planta Medica
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: July 1, 2001
Publication Date: October 10, 2001
Citation: CANTRELL, C.L., FRANZBLAU, S.G., FISCHER, N.H. ANTIMYCOBACTERIAL PLANT TERPENOIDS. PLANTA MEDICA. 2001. v. 67. p. 685-694.

Technical Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB), mainly caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is the leading killer among all infectious diseases worldwide and is responsible for more than two million deaths annually. For over 30 years, no antitubercular agents with new mechanisms of action have been developed. The recent increase in the number of multi-drug resistant clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis has created an urgent need for the discovery and development of new antituberculosis leads. This review covers recent reports on plant-derived terpenoids that have demonstrated moderate to high activity in in vitro bioassays against M. tuberculosis. In this review, mono-, sesqui-, di- and triterpenes, and sterols, their structural analogs and semisynthetic derivatives will be discussed, with particular emphasis on the structural features essential for antimycobacterial activity.