Abstract
Drug discovery has been an essential pursuit of mankind since prehistoric times. Because of the structural and biological diversity of their constituents, terrestrial plants offer a unique, renewable resource for the discovery of potential new drugs and biological entities. The most pertinent question is how to find the proverbial needle (active compound) in the haystack (plant kingdom). Conservative estimates indicate that there are about 250,000 species of flowering plants on this planet, of which it is estimated that 155,000 are found in the tropics (1), consequently, a rational strategy for drug discovery is required, since it is unrealistic to believe that all plants can be investigated biologically.
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Cordell, G.A. et al. (1994). Novel Strategies for the Discovery of Plant-Derived Anticancer Agents. In: Valeriote, F.A., Corbett, T.H., Baker, L.H. (eds) Anticancer Drug Discovery and Development: Natural Products and New Molecular Models. Developments in Oncology, vol 74. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2610-0_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2610-0_4
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