ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on some of the findings of investigations on some selected Mexican medicinal plants. The richness of medicinal plants in Mexico can be estimated from the number of species utilized. The effort to produce systematically an inventory of Mexican medicinal plants was carried out by Instituto Nacional Indigenista using native participants as well as bibliographic and herbarium sources. In the course of a search for naturally occurring spasmolytic agents from Mexican medicinal plants it was demonstrated that the methanol extracts of D. viscosa and C. filaginoides exerted a significant concentration-dependent inhibition of the spontaneous contractions of the isolated rat ileum. In several factors have limited the investigation of plant natural products as a source of drugs and pesticide agents in Mexico. However, many local scientific groups are currently exploring Mexican medicinal flora from the biological and chemical point of view. Efforts have led to the isolation of several compounds with interesting biological properties.
