Anti-Infectious Activity in The Anthemideae Tribe

Infectious diseases account for one third of all deaths worldwide. The spread of multidrug-resistant strains of microbes makes it necessary to discover new classes of antimicrobials and compounds that inhibit these resistance mechanisms. In the past few decades, the search for new anti-infective agents has occupied many research groups in the field of ethnopharmacology. Many focus on determining the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts found in folk medicine, essential oils or isolated compounds. The Anthemideae tribe of the Asteraceae comprises a large number of species that have been and are still used as medicinal plants, particularly in folk medicine. In the present review, we analyze the past, present and future of medicinal plants of the Anthemideae tribe, both as potential antimicrobial crude drugs as well as a source for natural compounds that act as new anti-infectious agents.