Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that affects one-third of the world’s population. Although currently available TB drugs have many side effects, such as nausea, headache and gastrointestinal discomfort, no new anti-TB drugs have been produced in the past 30 years. Therefore, the discovery of a new anti-TB agent with minimal or no side effects is urgently needed. Many previous works have reported the effects of medicinal plants against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). However, none have focused on medicinal plants from the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region. This review highlights the effects of medicinal plants from the MENA region on TB. Medicinal plants from the MENA region have been successfully used as traditional medicine and first aid against TB related problems. A total of 184 plants species representing 73 families were studied. Amongst these species, 93 species contained more active compounds with strong anti-MTB activity (crude extracts and/or bioactive compounds with activities of 0–100 µg/ml). The extract of Inula helenium, Khaya senegalensis, Premna odorata and Rosmarinus officinalis presented the strongest anti-MTB activity. In addition, Boswellia papyrifera (Del) Hochst olibanum, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh leaves (river red gum), Nigella sativa (black cumin) seeds and genus Cymbopogon exhibited anti-TB activity. The most potent bioactive compounds included alantolactone, octyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, thymoquinone, piperitone, α- verbenol, citral b and α-pinene. These compounds affect the permeability of microbial plasma membranes, thus kill the mycobacterium spp. As a conclusion, plant species collected from the MENA region are potential sources of novel drugs against TB.

结核病 (TB) 是一种影响世界三分之一人口的疾病。尽管目前可用的结核病药物有许多副作用，例如恶心、头痛和胃肠道不适，但过去30年没有生产出新的抗结核病药物。因此，迫切需要发现一种副作用最小或无副作用的新型抗结核药物。之前的许多著作都报道了药用植物对结核分枝杆菌（MTB）的作用。然而，没有一个研究重点关注中东和北非 (MENA) 地区的药用植物。这篇综述强调了中东和北非地区药用植物对结核病的影响。来自中东和北非地区的药用植物已成功用作传统药物和急救，以解决结核病相关问题。总共研究了代表 73 个科的 184 种植物。在这些物种中，93个物种含有较多的具有较强抗MTB活性的活性化合物（粗提物和/或活性为0-100 µg/ml的生物活性化合物）。土木香、塞内加尔卡亚、Premna odorata和Rosmarinus officinalis的提取物表现出最强的抗MTB 活性。此外，Boswellia papyrifera (Del) Hochst olibanum、Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh 叶（河红胶）、Nigella sativa（黑孜然）种子和Cymbopogon属也表现出抗结核活性。最有效的生物活性化合物包括alantolactone、乙酸辛酯、1,8-桉树脑、百里醌、胡椒酮、α-马鞭草酚、柠檬醛b和α-蒎烯。这些化合物影响微生物质膜的渗透性，从而杀死分枝杆菌。总之，从中东和北非地区收集的植物物种是抗结核病新药的潜在来源。