title: Plants in our combating strategies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis: progress made and obstacles met.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Traditionally used plants for treating chest-related problems/tuberculosis (TB) have not been evaluated in detail and hence a thorough study is needed in this regard. This knowledge may find application in developing new anti-TB drugs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article elaborates on studying the activity of medicinal plants against different forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) using different model strains, in vitro and ex vivo assays for studying the tuberculocidal activity and discusses the results from different studies on the activity against different forms of Mtb and human immunodeficiency virus-tuberculosis (HIV-TB) co-infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scientific databases such as PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, Google scholar, were used to retrieve the information from 86 research articles (published from 1994 to 2016) related to the topic of this review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three plant species have been reported to possess active molecules against multi-drug resistant (MDR) isolates of Mtb. Seven plants were found to be active against intracellular Mtb and six against dormant bacilli. Seven plants were synergistically effective when combined with anti-TB drugs. Six studies suggest that the beneficial effects of plant extracts are due to their wide array of immuno-modulatory effects manifested by the higher expression of cytokines. Some studies have also shown the dual activity (anti-HIV and anti-TB) of plants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We emphasize on identifying plants based on traditional uses and testing their extracts/phytomolecules against MDR strains, intracellular Mtb as well as against dormant Mtb. This will help in future to shorten the current therapeutic regimens for TB and also for treating HIV-TB co-infection.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , National JALMA Institute for Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases (ICMR) , Agra , India.
authors.forename: Vivek Kumar
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: b Department of Immunology , National JALMA Institute for Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases (ICMR) , Agra , India.
authors.forename: M Madhan
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , National JALMA Institute for Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases (ICMR) , Agra , India.
authors.forename: Deepa
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bisht
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , National JALMA Institute for Leprosy & Other Mycobacterial Diseases (ICMR) , Agra , India.
authors.forename: Anupam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaushik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000995:Antitubercular Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D060085:Coinfection; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000639:trends*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D000995:Antitubercular Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: MDR; anti-TB phytomolecules; plant extracts; plant-based drugs