Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Phytochemicals as Sources of Drugs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Phytochemistry: An in-silico and in-vitro Update

Abstract

Medicinal plants are known to contain substances which could be useful for the treatment of diseases or for the production of drugs. These substances occur naturally in plants (leaves, stems, barks, and root) and are referred to as secondary metabolites because they are synthesized to protect the plant other than for growth just like the primary metabolites. Fortunately for humans, most of these secondary metabolites possess medicinal potentials which are active against many diseases. Before the advent of modern analytical techniques for the screening of plant actives, the traditional plants have been used primitively to alleviate symptoms of illnesses such as stomach ache, toothache, body pain and inflammation, diarrhea, malaria, typhoid, diabetes etc. This chapter presents an overview of the usefulness of medicinal plants as sources of drugs, the drug discovery process, the efficacy and safety of phytochemicals, current uses, advances in screening tools, problems and the way forward.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ahmad I, Beg AZ. Antimicrobial and phytochemical studies on 45 Indian medicinal plants against multi-drug resistant human pathogens. J Ethnopharmacol. 2001;74(2):113–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aljabali AA. Viral nanoparticles: a drug delivery platform. J Pharm Toxicol. 2018;1(1):1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armand Z, Abel A, Hanitra RR, Joseph RD, Mahandrimanana A. Ethnobotanical, antimicrobial and phytochemical screening of Euphorbia Thymoflia L.(Kinononono madiniky) to cure the menstrual hemorrhage of a woman Sakalava Bemazava in the Northern Region of Madagascar. Int J Plant Res. 2018;8(1):1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atanasov AG, Waltenberger B, Pferschy-Wenzig E, Linder T, Wawrosch C, Uhrin P, Temml V, Wang L, Schwaiger S, Heiss E, Rollinger JM, Schuster D, Breuss JM, Bochkov V, Mihovilovic MD, Kopp B, Bauer R, Dirsch VM, Stuppner H. Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products: a review. Biotechnol Adv. 2015;33:1582–614.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Auerbach BJ, Reynolds SJ, Lamorde M, Merry C, Kukunda-Byobona C, Ocama P, Semeere AS, Ndyanabo A, Boaz I, Kiggundu V. Traditional herbal medicine use associated with liver fibrosis in rural Rakai, Uganda. PLoS One. 2012;7(11):e41737.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Azwanida N. A review on the extraction methods use in medicinal plants, principle, strength and limitation. Med Aromat Plants. 2015;4(3):3–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bajpai VK, Chandra V, Kim N-H, Rai R, Kumar P, Kim K, Aeron A, Kang SC, Maheshwari D, Na M. Ghost probiotics with a combined regimen: a novel therapeutic approach against the Zika virus, an emerging world threat. Crit Rev Biotechnol. 2018;38(3):438–54.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baker JT, Borris RP, Carte B, Cordell GA, Soejarto DD, Cragg GM, Gupta MP, Iwu MM, Madulid DR, Tyler VE. Natural products drug discovery and development: new perspectives on international collaboration. J Nat Prod. 1995;58(9):1325–57.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Balick MJ, Cox PA. Plants, people, and culture: the science of ethnobotany. New York: Scientific American Library; 1997. p. 228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balunas MJ, Kinghorn AD. Drug discovery from medicinal plants. Life Sci. 2005;78:431–41.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bellah SF, Islam MN, Karim MR, Rahaman MM, Nasrin MS, Rahman MA, Reza AA. Evaluation of cytotoxic, analgesic, antidiarrheal and phytochemical properties of Hygrophila spinosa (T. Anders) whole plant. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2017;28(2):185–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Besser GM, Thorner MO. Bromocriptine in the treatment of the hyperprolactinaemia-hypogonadism syndromes. Postgrad Med J. 1976;52:64–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaskovich MA, Sun J, Cantor A, Turkson J, Jove R, Sebti SM. Discovery of JSI-124 (cucurbitacin I), a selective Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 signaling pathway inhibitor with potent antitumor activity against human and murine cancer cells in mice. Cancer Res. 2003;63(6):1270–9.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blundell TL, Jhoti H, Abell C. High-throughput crystallography for lead discovery in drug design. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2002;1(1):45–54.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boghog. Drug discovery cycle. 2015. Available: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Drug_discovery_cycle.svg. Accessed 15 Sept 2018.

  • Borhan M, Ahmad R, Rusop M, Abdullah S. Impact of nanopowders on exraction yield of Centella asiatica. Adv Mater Res Trans Tech Publ. 2013;667:246–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brevoort P. Booming US botanical market: a new overview. HerbalGram. 1998;44:33–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briskin DP. Medicinal plants and phytomedicines. Linking plant biochemistry and physiology to human health. Plant Physiol. 2000;124(2):507–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bucar F, Wube A, Schmid M. Natural product isolation – how to get from biological material to pure compounds. Nat Prod Rep. 2013;30:525–45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Butler MS. The role of natural product chemistry in drug discovery. J Nat Prod. 2004;67(12):2141–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chander MP, Pillai C, Sunish I, Vijayachari P. Antimalarial efficacy of nine medicinal plants traditionally used by the Karens of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2015;11:126–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chander MP, Pillai C, Sunish I, Vijayachari P. Antimicrobial and antimalarial properties of medicinal plants used by the indigenous tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Microb Pathog. 2016;96:85–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GL, Guo MQ. Rapid screening for α-glucosidase inhibitors from Gymnema sylvestre by affinity ultrafiltration-HPLC-MS. Front Pharmacol. 2017a;8:228–35.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GL, Guo MQ. Screening for natural inhibitors of topoisomerases I from Rhamnus davurica by affinity ultrafiltration and high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Front Plant Sci. 2017b;8:1521–31.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GL, Tian YQ, Guo MQ. Screening for inhibitors of topoisomerase I from Lycoris radiata by combining ultrafiltration with liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom. 2016a;30:95–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen GL, Tian YQ, Wu JL, Li N, Guo MQ. Antiproliferative activities of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids from Lycoris radiata targeting DNA topoisomerase I. Sci Rep. 2016b;6:38284–2383.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cichewicz RH, Kouzi SA. Chemistry, biological activity, and chemotherapeutic potential of betulinic acid for the prevention and treatment of cancer and HIV infection. Med Res Rev. 2004;24(1):90–114.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clardy J, Walsh C. Lessons from natural molecules. Nature. 2004;432(7019):829–37.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clark R, Lee S-H. Anticancer properties of capsaicin against human cancer. Anticancer Res. 2016;36(3):837–43.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cordell GA. Sustainable medicines and global health care. Planta Med. 2011;77:1129–38.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Croft KD, Yamashita Y, O’Donoghue H, Shirasaya D, Ward NC, Ashida H. Screening plant derived dietary phenolic compounds for bioactivity related to cardiovascular disease. Fitoterapia. 2018;126:22–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • da Silva DT, Herrera R, Heinzmann BM, Calvo J, Labidi J. Nectandra grandiflora by-products obtained by alternative extraction methods as a source of phytochemicals with antioxidant and antifungal properties. Molecules. 2018;23(2):372.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • David B, Wolfender JL, Dias DA. The pharmaceutical industry and natural products: historical status and new trends. Phytochem Rev. 2015;14(2):299–315.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Decker M. Hybrid molecules incorporating natural products: applications in cancer therapy, neurodegenerative disorders and beyond. Curr Med Chem. 2011;18(10):1464–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deoray V, Page A. Treatment of menstrual disorders: a shift from synthetic drugs to drugs of natural origin. Int J Pharm Bio Sci. 2018;9(1):120–31.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dickson M, Gagnon JP. Key factors in the rising cost of new drug discovery and development. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2004;3(5):417–29.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dügenci SK, Arda N, Candan A. Some medicinal plants as immunostimulant for fish. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003;88(1):99–106.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dutra RC, Campos MM, Santos AR, Calixto JB. Medicinal plants in Brazil: pharmacological studies, drug discovery, challenges and perspectives. Pharmacol Res. 2016;112:4–29.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Egbuna C, Ifemeje JC. Biological functions and anti-nutritional effects of phytochemicals in living system. IOSR J Pharm Biol Sci. 2015;10(2):10–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Front Pharmacol. 2014;4:1–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ekstrom P, Akerlund M, Forsling M, Kindahl H, Laudanski T, Mrugacz G. Stimulation of vasopressin release in women with primary dysmenorrhoea and after oral contraceptive treatment – effect on uterine contractility. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1992;99(8):680–4.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elujoba AA, Odeleye O, Ogunyemi C. Traditional medicine development for medical and dental primary health care delivery system in Africa. Afr J Trad Comp Altern Med. 2005;2(1):46–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feher M, Schmidt JM. Property distributions: differences between drugs, natural products, and molecules from combinatorial chemistry. J Chem Inf Comput Sci. 2003;43(1):218–27.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Furlan V, Kujawska M, Hilgert NI, Pochettino ML. To what extent are medicinal plants shared between country home gardens and urban ones? A case study from Misiones, Argentina. Pharm Biol. 2016;54(9):1628–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gambini J, Inglés M, Olaso G, Lopez-Grueso R, Bonet-Costa V, Gimeno-Mallench L, Mas-Bargues C, Abdelaziz K, Gomez-Cabrera M, Vina J. Properties of resveratrol: in vitro and in vivo studies about metabolism, bioavailability, and biological effects in animal models and humans. Oxidative Med Cell Longev. 2015;2015:837042.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ganesan A. Natural products as a hunting ground for combinatorial chemistry. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2004;15(6):584–90.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Glish GL, Vachet RW. The basics of mass spectrometry in the twenty-first century. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2003;2(2):140–50.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Govindaraghavan S, Sucher NJ. Quality assessment of medicinal herbs and their extracts: criteria and prerequisites for consistent safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. Epilepsy Behav. 2015;52:363–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta VK, Kaushik A, Chauhan DS, Ahirwar RK, Sharma S, Bisht D. Anti-mycobacterial activity of some medicinal plants used traditionally by tribes from Madhya Pradesh, India for treating tuberculosis related symptoms. J Ethnopharmacol. 2018;227:113–20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey AL. Natural products in drug discovery. Drug Discov Today. 2008;13:894–901.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hein M, Zilian D, Sotriffer CA. Docking compared to 3D-pharmacophores: the scoring function challenge. Drug Discov Today Technol. 2010;7:e229–36.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henrich CJ, Beutler JA. Matching the power of high throughput screening to the chemical diversity of natural products. Nat Prod Rep. 2013;30:1284–98.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hossan S, Agarwala B, Sarwar S, Karim M, Jahan R, Rahmatullah M. Traditional use of medicinal plants in Bangladesh to treat urinary tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases. Ethnobot Res Appl. 2010;8:061–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howes MJR. The evolution of anticancer drug discovery from plants. Lancet Oncol. 2018;19(3):293–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain H, John M, Al-Harrasi A, Shah A, Hassan Z, Abbas G, Rana UA, Green IR, Schulz B, Krohn K. Phytochemical investigation and antimicrobial activity of an endophytic fungus Phoma sp. J King Saud Univ-Sci. 2015;27(1):92–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hussain G, Rasul A, Anwar H, Aziz N, Razzaq A, Wei W, Ali M, Li J, Li X. Role of plant derived alkaloids and their mechanism in neurodegenerative disorders. Int J Biol Sci. 2018;14(3):341.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Jeevanandam J, San Y, Chan YS, Danquah MK. Nano-formulations of drugs: recent developments, impact and challenges. Biochimie. 2016a;128:99–112.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeevanandam J, Chan YS, Danquah MK. Biosynthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. Chem Bio Eng Rev. 2016b;3(2):55–67.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeyam M, Sushma R, Sharanya M, Poornima V. Validating nutraceuticals to alleviate progeria using molecular docking studies. J Pharm Biomed Sci (JPBMS). 2011;13(13):1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson TA, Sohn J, Inman WD, Estee SA, Loveridge ST, Vervoort HC, et al. Natural product libraries to accelerate the high-throughput discovery of therapeutic leads. J Nat Prod. 2011;74:2545–55.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kabir Y, Shekhar HU, Sidhu JS. Phytochemical compounds in functional properties of mangoes. In: Siddiq M, Brecht JK, Sidhu JS, editors. Handbook of mango fruit: production, postharvest science, processing technology and nutrition. Oxford: Wiley; 2017. p. 237–54.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kala CP. Medicinal and aromatic plants: boon for enterprise development. J Appl Res Med Aromat Plants. 2015;2(4):134–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karthikeyan S, Laxmanappa HS. Development of fourth generation ABC inhibitors from natural products: a novel approach to overcome cancer multidrug resistance. Anti-Cancer Agents Med Chem (Formerly Curr Med Chem-Anti-Cancer Agents). 2015;15(5):605–15.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaserer T, Temml V, Schuster D. Polypharmacology and adverse bioactivity profiles predict potential toxicity and drug-related ADRs. In: Wang J, Urban L, editors. Predictive ADMET. Hoboken: Wiley; 2014. p. 23–45.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Katiyar C, Gupta A, Kanjilal S, Katiyar S. Drug discovery from plant sources: an integrated approach. Ayu. 2012;33(1):10–9.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Khyade M, Vaikos N. Phytochemical and antibacterial properties of leaves of Alstonia scholaris R. Br Afr J Biotechnol. 2009;8(22):6434–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kingman C, Kadir R, Lee C, Economides D. The use of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system for treatment of menorrhagia in women with inherited bleeding disorders. BJOG Int J Obstet Gynaecol. 2004;111(12):1425–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kingston DG. Modern natural products drug discovery and its relevance to biodiversity conservation. J Nat Prod. 2011;74:496–511.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Koehn FE, Carter GT. The evolving role of natural products in drug discovery. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2005;4:206–20.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kontos N, Beach SR, Smith FF, Greenberg DB. Psychosomatic conditions: somatic symptom. In: Massachusetts general hospital handbook of general hospital psychiatry e-book. Philadelphia: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2017. p. 161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer R, Cohen D. Functional genomics to new drug targets. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2004;3(11):965–72.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar V, Babu S, Revale A, Meena R, Ranjan M, Desai B. Cultivation of medicinal plants in natural ecosystem in Gujarat (India): constraints and conservation need. J Plant Dev Sci. 2014;6(3):425–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lagunin AA, Goel RK, Gawande DY, Pahwa P, Gloriozova TA, Dmitriev AV, Ivanov SM, Rudik AV, Konova VI, Pogodin PV. Chemo-and bioinformatics resources for in silico drug discovery from medicinal plants beyond their traditional use: a critical review. Nat Prod Rep. 2014;31(11):1585–611.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JA, Uhlik MT, Moxham CM, Tomandl D, Sall DJ. Modern phenotypic drug discovery is a viable, neoclassic pharma strategy. J Med Chem. 2012;55:4527–38.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Sun X, LaMont JT, Pardee AB, Li CJ. Selective killing of cancer cells by beta-lapachone: direct checkpoint activation as a strategy against cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003;100(5):2674–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Li HL, Song FR, Xing JP, Tsao R, Liu ZQ, Liu SY. Screening and structural characterization of α-glucosidase inhibitors from hawthorn leaf flavonoids extract by ultrafiltration LC-DAD-MSn and SORI-CID FTICR MS. J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2009;20:1496–503.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Li SN, Tang Y, Liu CM, Zhang YC. Development of a method to screen and isolate potential α-glucosidase inhibitors from Panax japonicus C.A. Meyer by ultrafiltration, liquid chromatography, and counter-current chromatography. J Sep Sci. 2015;38:2014–23.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loizzo MR, Pugliese A, Bonesi M, Tenuta MC, Menichini F, Xiao J, Tundis R. Edible flowers: a rich source of phytochemicals with antioxidant and hypoglycemic properties. J Agric Food Chem. 2015;64(12):2467–74.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lombardino JG, Lowe JA III. The role of the medicinal chemist in drug discovery—then and now. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2004;3(10):853–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maes J, Verlooy L, Buenafe OE, deWitte PA, Esguerra CV, Crawford AD. Evaluation of 14 organic solvents and carriers for screening applications in zebrafish embryos and larvae. PLoS One. 2012;7:e43850.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mulabagal V, Calderon AI. Development of an ultrafiltration-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (UF-LC/MS) based ligand-binding assay and an LC/MS based functional assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis shikimate kinase. Anal Chem. 2010;82:3616–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Naresh Y, Nagendraswamy H. Classification of medicinal plants: an approach using modified LBP with symbolic representation. Neurocomputing. 2016;173:1789–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nastić N, Borrás-Linares I, Lozano-Sánchez J, Å varc-Gajić J, Segura-Carretero A. Optimization of the extraction of phytochemicals from black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) leaves. J Ind Eng Chem. 2018;68:282–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nesterkina M, Bernier UR, Tabanca N, Kravchenko I. Repellent activity of monoterpenoid esters with neurotransmitter amino acids against yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Open Chem. 2018;16(1):95–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Newman DJ, Cragg GM. Natural products as sources of new drugs from 1981 to 2014. J Nat Prod. 2016;79:629–61.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newman DJ, Cragg GM, Snader KM. The influence of natural products upon drug discovery. Nat Prod Rep. 2000;17(3):215–34.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Newman DJ, Cragg GM, Snader KM. Natural products as sources of new drugs over the period 1981–2002. J Nat Prod. 2003;66(7):1022–37.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nivedha RP, Suryanarayanan V, Selvaraj C, Singh SK, Rajalakshmi M. Chemopreventive effect of saponin isolated from Gymnema sylevestre on prostate cancer through in silico and in vivo analysis. Med Chem Res. 2017;26(9):1915–25.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nogueira M, Enfissi EM, Almeida J, Fraser PD. Creating plant molecular factories for industrial and nutritional isoprenoid production. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2018;49:80–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nwidu LL, Nwafor PA, Vilegas W. The aphrodisiac herb Carpolobia: a biopharmacological and phytochemical review. Pharmacogn Rev. 2015;9(18):132.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Omidi M, Fatehinya A, Farahani M, Akbari Z, Shahmoradi S, Yazdian F, Tahriri M, Moharamzadeh K, Tayebi L, Vashaee D. Chapter 7: Characterization of biomaterials. In: Tayebi L, Moharamzadeh K, editors. Biomaterials for oral and dental tissue engineering. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing; 2017. p. 97–115.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pan S, Zhou S, Gao S, Yu Z, Zhang S, Tang M, Sun J, Ma D, Han Y, Fong W, Ko K. New perspectives on how to discover drugs from herbal medicines: CAM’s outstanding contribution to modern therapeutics. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:627375, 25 pages

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Petrovska BB. Historical review of medicinal plants’ usage. Pharmacogn Rev. 2012;6(11):1.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Piggott AM, Karuso P. Quality, not quantity: the role of natural products and chemical proteomics in modern drug discovery. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen. 2004;7(7):607–30.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pisha E, Chai H, Lee IS, Chagwedera TE, Farnsworth NR, Cordell GA, Beecher CW, Fong HH, Kinghorn AD, Brown DM, Wani MC, Wall ME, Hieken TJ, Das Gupta TK, Pezzuto JM. Discovery of betulinic acid as a selective inhibitor of human melanoma that functions by induction of apoptosis. Nat Med. 1995;1(10):1046–51.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Potterat O, Hamburger M. Concepts and technologies for tracking bioactive compounds in natural product extracts: generation of libraries, and hyphenation of analytical processes with bioassays. Nat Prod Rep. 2013;30:546–64.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reichert JM. Trends in development and approval times for new therapeutics in the United States. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2003;2(9):695–702.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ríos JL, Francini F, Schinella GR. Natural products for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Planta Med. 2015;81(12/13):975–94.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rollinger JM, Stuppner H, Langer T. Virtual screening for the discovery of bioactive natural products. Prog Drug Res. 2008;65:213–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saad B, Zaid H, Shanak S, Kadan S. Anti-diabetes and anti-obesity medicinal plants and phytochemicals: safety, efficacy, and action mechanisms. Cham: Springer; 2017.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Saharan VA. Current status of regulations for herbal medicines in Europe, United States and India. J Nat Conscientia. 2011;2(3):406.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sahreen S, Khan MR, Khan RA, Hadda TB. Evaluation of phytochemical content, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antitumor activities of extract from Rumex hastatus D. Don roots. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2015;15(1):211.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Samuelsson G. Drugs of natural origin: a textbook of pharmacognosy. 5th ed. Stockholm: Swedish Pharmaceutical Press; 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samy RP, Pushparaj PN, Gopalakrishnakone P. A compilation of bioactive compounds from Ayurveda. Bioinformation. 2008;3(3):100–10.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Saraf S. Applications of novel drug delivery system for herbal formulations. Fitoterapia. 2010;81(7):680–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sarker S, Nahar L. Chemistry for pharmacy students: general, organic and natural product chemistry. Somerset: Wiley; 2007.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sarker SD, Latif Z, Gray AI. Natural products isolation: an overview. In: Sarker SD, Latif Z, Gray AI, editors. Natural products isolation. 2nd ed. Totowa: Humana Press; 2005.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sasidharan CY, Saravanan D, Sundram KM, Yoga LL. Extraction, isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds from plants’ extracts. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2011;8(1):1–10.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sayin HU. Psychoactive plants used during religious rituals. In: Neuropathology of drug addictions and substance misuse. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2016. p. 17–28.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schenone M, Dancik V, Wagner BK, Clemons PA. Target identification and mechanism of action in chemical biology and drug discovery. Nat Chem Biol. 2013;9:232–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Shakya AK. Medicinal plants: future source of new drugs. Int J Herb Med. 2016;4(4):59–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shal B, Ding W, Ali H, Kim YS, Khan S. Anti-neuroinflammatory potential of natural products in attenuation of Alzheimer’s disease. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:548.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shankar RJ, Deol PK, Kaur IP. Editorial (thematic issue: perspectives and challenges in rational exploitation of phytochemicals in cure, control and management of diseases). Curr Pharm Des. 2016;22(27):4095–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma S. Current status of herbal product: regulatory overview. J Pharm Bioallied Sci. 2015;7(4):293–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma D, Pramanik A, Agrawal PK. Evaluation of bioactive secondary metabolites from endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis neglecta BAB-5510 isolated from leaves of Cupressus torulosa D. Don. 3 Biotech. 2016;6(2):210.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Shin J, Prabhakaran VS, Kim KS. The multi-faceted potential of plant-derived metabolites as antimicrobial agents against multidrug-resistant pathogens. Microb Pathog. 2018;116:209–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shobana S, Vidhya R. Evaluation of in vitro hemolytic activity of different parts of Abutilon indicum (Linn.). World J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2016;5(5):1182–96.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simoben CV, Ntie-Kang F, Akone SH, Sippl W. Compounds from African medicinal plants with activities against selected parasitic diseases: schistosomiasis, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis. Nat Prod Bioprospect. 2018;8(3):151–69.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sirilun S, Sivamaruthi BS, Kesika P, Pengkumsri N, Tuntisuwanno N, Chaiyasut K, Peerajan S, Chaiyasut C. Development and stability evaluation of vaginal suppository containing glycyrrhiza glabra l. for the treatment of candida albicans infection. Development. 2018;11(7):205–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith AG, Foster JR. The association between chemical-induced porphyria and hepatic cancer. Toxicol Res. 2018;7:647–63.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Solanki ND, Bhavsar SK, Pandya DT. Role of phytotherapy in diabetic neuropathy and neurodegeneration: from pathogenesis to treatment. J Phytopharmacol. 2018;7(2):152–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steenkamp V. Traditional herbal remedies used by South African women for gynaecological complaints. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003;86(1):97–108.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Susantiningsih T, Ridwan R, Prijanti AR, Sadikin M, Freisleben HJ. Schizonticidal effect of a combination of Amaranthus spinosus L. and Andrographis paniculata Burm. f./Nees extracts in Plasmodium berghei-infected mice. Med J Indones. 2012;21(2):66–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takenaka T. Classical vs reverse pharmacology in drug discovery. BJ Int. 2001;88(Suppl.2):7–10.. (discussion 49–50)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tan DS. Current progress in natural product-like libraries for discovery screening. Comb Chem High Throughput Screen. 2004;7(7):631–43.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tan Y, Yu R, Pezzuto JM. Betulinic acid-induced programmed cell death in human melanoma cells involves mitogen-activated protein kinase activation. Clin Cancer Res. 2003;9:2866–2875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang Y, Liu CM, Ren JQ, Zhang YC, Li SN. Screening of α-glucosidase and xanthine oxidase inhibitors from Garcinia mangostana extract using ultrafiltration HPLC-ESI-MS. Lishishen Med Mate Med Res. 2015;26:2322–5.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tao Y, Cai H, Li WD, Cai BC. Ultrafiltration coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography and quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for screening lipase binders from different extracts of Dendrobium officinale. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2015;407:6081–93.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas J, Joy P, Mathew S, Skaria BP. Development of medicinal and aromatic plants-outlook for the next millennium. Indian J Arecanut Species Med Plant. 1999;1(2):38–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uddandrao VS, Brahmanaidu P, Nivedha P, Vadivukkarasi S, Saravanan G. Beneficial role of some natural products to attenuate the diabetic cardiomyopathy through Nrf2 pathway in cell culture and animal models. Cardiovasc Toxicol. 2018;18(3):199–205.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ujah FO. Medicinal potentials of green tea. In: Egbuna C, Kumar S, Ifemeje JC, Kurhekar JV, editors. Phytochemistry. Volume 2: Pharmacognosy, nanomedicine, and contemporary issues. Toronto: Apple Academic Press; 2019. p. 257–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vambe M, Aremu A, Chukwujekwu J, Finnie J, Van Staden J. Antibacterial screening, synergy studies and phenolic content of seven South African medicinal plants against drug-sensitive and-resistant microbial strains. S Afr J Bot. 2018;114:250–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van de Velde F, Grace MH, Esposito D, Pirovani ME, Lila MA. Quantitative comparison of phytochemical profile, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of blackberry fruits adapted to Argentina. J Food Compos Anal. 2016;47:82–91.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vongsak B, Sithisarn P, Mangmool S, Thongpraditchote S, Wongkrajang Y, Gritsanapan W. Maximizing total phenolics, total flavonoids contents and antioxidant activity of Moringa oleifera leaf extract by the appropriate extraction method. Ind Crop Prod. 2013;44:566–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vora J, Patel S, Sinha S, Sharma S, Srivastava A, Chhabria M, Shrivastava N. Molecular docking, QSAR and ADMET based mining of natural compounds against prime targets of HIV. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2018;7:1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Weller CL. Recent advances in extraction of nutraceuticals from plants. Trends Food Sci Technol. 2006;17(6):300–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Liu Y, Li X-H, Zeng X-C, Li J, Zhou J, Xiao B, Hu K. Curcumin protects neuronal cells against status-epilepticus-induced hippocampal damage through induction of autophagy and inhibition of necroptosis. Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2016;95(5):501–9.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu B, Song HP, Zhou X, et al. Screening of minor bioactive compounds from herbal medicines by in silico docking and the trace peak exposure methods. J Chromatogr A. 2016a;1436:91–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wu SQ, Yang H, Li P. Application of the affinity ultrafiltration coupled with LC-MS technology in screening active components of traditional Chinese medicines. Acta Pharm Sin. 2016b;51:1060–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xiao J. Phytochemicals in medicine and food. Phytochem Rev. 2015;14:317–20.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang L, Yang C, Li C, Zhao Q, Liu L, Fang X, Chen XY. Recent advances in biosynthesis of bioactive compounds in traditional Chinese medicinal plants. Sci Bull. 2016a;61(1):3–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang M, Lee G, Si J, Lee SJ, You HJ, Ko G. Curcumin shows antiviral properties against norovirus. Molecules. 2016b;21(10):1401.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zengin G, Bulut G, Mollica A, Picot-Allain CMN, Mahomoodally MF. In vitro and in silico evaluation of Centaurea saligna (K. Koch) Wagenitz – an endemic folk medicinal plant. Comput Biol Chem. 2018;73:120–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Zhu Y, Duan W, Feng C, He X. Allicin induces apoptosis of the MGC-803 human gastric carcinoma cell line through the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase/caspase-3 signaling pathway. Mol Med Rep. 2015;11(4):2755–60.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng W, Thorne N, McKew JC. Phenotypic screens as a renewed approach for drug discovery. Drug Discov Today. 2013;18:1067–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou K, Su L, Yu LL. Phytochemicals and antioxidant properties in wheat bran. J Agric Food Chem. 2004;52(20):6108–14.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu HB, Liu S, Li X, Song FR, Liu ZQ, Liu S. Bioactivity fingerprint analysis of cyclooxygenase-2 ligands from radix Aconiti by ultrafiltration- UPLC-MSn. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2013;405:7437–45.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Shahira M. Ezzat

  2. Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA), 6th of October, Egypt

    Shahira M. Ezzat

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University Malaysia, Miri, Malaysia

    Jaison Jeevanandam

  4. Department of Biochemistry, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra, Nigeria

    Chukwuebuka Egbuna

  5. Department of Biochemistry and Microbial Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    Shashank Kumar

  6. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra, Nigeria

    Jonathan C. Ifemeje

Authors
  1. Shahira M. Ezzat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jaison Jeevanandam
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chukwuebuka Egbuna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shashank Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jonathan C. Ifemeje
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chukwuebuka Egbuna .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Microbial Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India

    Shashank Kumar

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra, Nigeria

    Chukwuebuka Egbuna

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Ezzat, S.M., Jeevanandam, J., Egbuna, C., Kumar, S., Ifemeje, J.C. (2019). Phytochemicals as Sources of Drugs. In: Kumar, S., Egbuna, C. (eds) Phytochemistry: An in-silico and in-vitro Update. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6920-9_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation