The antibiotic streptomycin was the first drug used to treat TB and illustrated
well the important role of nature in the fight against diseases. For example, several
natural products were discovered between 1940-60´s against Mycobacterium
tuberculosis being used nowadays in TB treatment as second-line drugs. Due to the
importance of nature in the past and the present for TB treatment and drug discovery, a
lot of attention has been given to new anti-TB drugs based on natural products
nowadays, especially against MDR and XDR-TB. Considering that, the aim of the
present chapter is to highlight promising natural product candidates in clinical trials
against TB.
Keywords: Tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, natural products, semisynthesis,
drug development, treatment, multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR
TB), extensive-drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB), target, mechanism of
action, biological evaluation, clinical studies.
