ABSTRACT
Most drugs currently available in the market are natural products, or compounds derived from or inspired by plant-based natural products, which offer the structural diversity that is not rivaled by the creativity or synthetic ingenuity of medicinal chemists. The demand and amount of phytopharmaceuticals entering the global market is on a steady rise because of their growing acceptance. China, Korea, India, and Brazil remain the world leaders in research and production of medicinal plant products. In 1911–2000, Chinese were able to isolate different bioactive plant compounds via bioassay-guided approach. The large number of medicinal plants to be evaluated and documented in developing countries will benefit from the chemo/bioscreening approach. If the countries become major players with their vast biodiversity resources, they should begin the process of research and development of the resources via an aggressive program. 4Possible bioactivity of a herbal product/extract can be speculated based on its phytochemical composition; for example, (1) plant polysaccharides are known to exhibit stimulating or suppressing effect on the immune system; (2) phenolic compounds showed strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, and antiageing activities; (3) amino acids and proteins in herbs are usually regarded as natural nutritional supplements for patients recovering from diseases. 1,2,4-Trioxolane cycle spiro-conjugated with lactone is the key pharmacophore fragment in artemisinin. Citrus fruits contain organic acids, vitamins, minerals, citric and ascorbic acids, and flavonoids. Unripe Citrus fruit is more enriched than ripe fruit in dietary fiber, polyphenol, and flavonoids. Thymol is chemically related to anesthetic propofol. Propofol/sevoflurane protocols are used in anesthesia maintenance. However, propofol is recommended neither in a neonatal/pediatric population nor at home, because of narrow therapeutic index.
