Flavonoids : a potential group of phytoconstituents against mycobacterial infections

Abstract EN

Phenolic compounds form one of the main classes of secondary metabolites.

Flavonoids constitute one of the most important groups of plant phenolics.

Several flavonoids are reported to possess various activities, such as antioxidative, wound healing, hepatoprotective, antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer.

They are classified as flavanes, flavones, flavanols, flavanones, flavonols, flavonolignans, isoflavones, isoflavanones, chalcones and anthocyanins, depending on their structural differences, which are known for their antimycobacterial activity.

Mycobacterial diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, bovine tuberculosis, paratuberculosis, etc., are caused by a member of the Actinobacteria family.

Mycobacterial infections are chronic due to the composition of the cell wall and their adaptability and hence can survive in different habitats for years.

The control of these diseases is a challenging task in several ways.

A plethora of data is available on the plants which have been screened for their antimycobacterial activity.

Some of them report the active phytoconstituents while others report the mechanisms of action of these phytoconstituents.

Furthermore, many researches have evaluated and reported the anti-mycobacterial activity of the extract containing flavonoids and fractions of plants extracts rich in flavonoids.

In this paper, an attempt is made to summarize and highlight the plants that have been evaluated for anti-mycobacterial activity, the various mechanisms of action, the various flavonoids involved and their biological sources.