ABSTRACT
The tropical forests of Laos (Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Lao PDR) are situated within the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. Estimates of the number of plants found in these forests are between 8,000 and 11,000 species, of which at least 4,000 have medicinal uses. Medicinal plants are a rich source of natural product-derived drugs, of which many derivatives have been developed as effective agents for the treatment of human illness, including cancer and infectious diseases. A reservoir consisting of a great number of plants growing in Laos offers an opportunity for new discoveries of bioactive compounds that may serve as a starting point for the development of new medicines. Through research collaborations between scientists at the ITM, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR in Vientiane, and researchers at UIC and at other foreign institutions, efforts have been made to explore medicinal plants of Laos, followed by phytochemical and biological investigations. Although this endeavor has been somewhat limited in scope to date, new bioactive molecules have been discovered from many medicinal plants of Laos. Based on these successes, some rationales for continuing efforts towards new discoveries are presented.
