Anti-mycobacterial compounds derived from marine organisms: Mode of actions and potential in tuberculosis treatment

Mycobacteria are an extremely large group of bacteria that are normal inhabitants of soil and water. It has an exceptional propensity to adjust to varying environmental conditions which has led to the success of this pathogen. Mycobacterium tuberculosis can inhabit human tissues for years without replicating, thereby resuming growth and resulting in active tuberculosis with an increased latency period compared to any other deadly disease. The existing vaccines and drugs in the market to treat tuberculosis are ineffective and pose severe side effects. Hence, the development of a novel drug with high efficacy to kill these replicating and non-replicating bacilli appears to be an attractive solution to tackle this problem. The extraction of novel biologically active compounds from marine organisms has prospective biomedical applications for future drug discovery. Tuberculosis treatment, in specific, may benefit from the identification of novel and efficient marine-based compounds. A few anti-mycobacterial compounds belonging to the class alkaloids, terpenoids, peptides, and steroids have been isolated from marine organisms and are known to have potential activity against mycobacteria. This review focuses on the currently available anti-mycobacterial compounds and quorum sensing inhibitors of marine origin along with their mode of action and their significant potential in the treatment of mycobacteria associated strains.