Medicinal Plants Used for Management of Tuberculosis: A Review

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains one of the leading infectious diseases worldwide, posing a major public health challenge due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant strains. Despite the availability of effective anti-tubercular drugs, prolonged treatment duration, adverse drug reactions, poor patient adherence, and increasing antimicrobial resistance have necessitated the search for alternative and complementary therapeutic approaches. Medicinal plants have been used for centuries in traditional systems of medicine and represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds with potential anti-mycobacterial, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Numerous plant species have demonstrated promising activity against M. tuberculosis in preclinical studies. Phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and essential oil have shown the ability to inhibit mycobacterial growth, enhance host immune responses, and improve the therapeutic efficacy of conventional anti-TB drugs. This review summarizes the current evidence on medicinal plants used in the management of tuberculosis, highlighting their phytochemical constituents, mechanisms of action, and pharmacological activities. This review aims to explore anti-tubercular medicinal plants based on scientific literature, focusing on their chemical components and therapeutic properties against TB.