The approach to new drugs through natural products has proved to be the single most successful strategy for the discovery of new drugs, but in recent years its use has been deemphasized by many pharmaceutical companies in favor of approaches based on combinatorial chemistry and genomics, among others. Again with rapid industrialization of the planet and the loss of ethnic culture and customs, some of the information on ethnomedicine will no doubt disappear. An abundance of ethnomedical information on plant uses can be found in scientific literature but has not yet been compiled into a usable form. Collection of ethnomedical information especially in the developing countries remains primarily an academic endeavour of little interest to most industrial groups. This article reviews some of the past successes of the natural products approach and also explores some of the reasons why it has fallen out of favor among major pharmaceutical companies and the challenges in drug discovery from Natural Products especially Higher Plants. In this review we consider the past, present, and future value of employing information from plants used in traditional medical practices (ethnomedicine) for the discovery of new bioactive compounds.
Malaria continues to be a major global public health problem with 3.3 billion people at risk in 106 endemic countries. Globally, over 1000 plants have been used as potential antimalarials in resource-poor settings due to fragile health-care systems and lack of accessibility and affordability of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). Although many believe that the use of medicinal plants that have folklore reputations for antimalarial properties is relatively safe, many herbs may be potentially toxic due to their intrinsic adverse side effects. Therefore, herbal-derived remedies require powerful and deep assessment of their pharmacological qualities to establish their mode of action, safety, quality, and efficacy. In addition, the evolution of drug resistance also demands new antimalarial agents. This can be achieved by forming a vibrant antimalarial discovery pipeline among all stakeholders, including traditional healers, ethnobotanists, scientists, entomologists, pharmacists, and research institutions, for the isolation and characterization of the bioactive compounds with the ultimate objective of finding novel modes of action antimalarial compounds that can be used to fight against drug-resistant malarial parasites.
Traditional Medicinal System (TMS) is one of the centuries-old practices and long-serving companions to the human kind to fight against disease and to lead a healthy life. Every indigenous people have been using their unique approaches of TMS practice where among, the Chinese, Indian and African TMSs are worldwide renowned. India has a unique Indian System of Medicines (ISM) consisting of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Naturopathy and Homoeopathy. Siddhars are the saints as well as the eminent scholars, who have attained Ashta-mahasiddhi [Tamil: (Ashta-Eight; Mahasiddhi-Power)] or enlightment. They have postulated, practiced, immensely contributed and have established the concept of the Tamil medicinal system called Siddha System of Medicine (SSM). From ancient time, SSM has flourished and has been widely practiced in the southern part of India particularly in Tamil Nadu. The induction of the modern medicinal system has immensely influenced the existence of SSM and has made the SSM principles and practices undervalued/extinct. However, at present, still a considerable group of people are using the SSM as a basic health-care modality. In this context, the present scrutiny deals with the TMS history, its significance with a special reference to SSM history, Siddhars, the basic concept of SSM, its diagnostic procedures, materia medica and treatment. Conclusively, Siddha is one of the most ancient indigenous health practices despite its several thorny challenges and issues, which needs to be flagged effectively and to be preserved and revitalized in the international arena in the near future.
The plant kingdom is considered to be a repository of modern medicine, attributable to their rich source of bio-active molecules and secondary metabolites. It is indeed the Nutraceuticals that enhance immunity and ensure a healthier life because of their prophylactic and therapeutic values. Over centuries, papaya [Caricaceae; (Carica papaya Linn.)] is a renowned nutritious and medicinal plant. Each part of the papaya like root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, seed, rinds, and latex has its own nutraceutical properties. It serves as food, cooking aid, and Ethnomedicine to prevent and treat wide-range of diseases and disorders. It has also been traditionally used as appetite enhancer, meat tenderizer, purgative, medicinal acne, abortifacient and vermifuge. Over decades, a series of scientific attempts were made to authenticate the nutraceutical properties of papaya. These studies validated that the papaya has antiplasmodial, antitrichochramal, antitrichomonal, antidengue, and anti-cancer activities. They have also exhibited that papaya possesses antiseptic, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and contraceptive features, and it helps in the management of sickle-cell anaemia, HIV, heart diseases and digestional disorders too. Nevertheless, the responsible bio-active molecules and their mode of actions remain indistinct and imprecise, and this calls for further pharmacological and clinical research on them. Conclusively, papaya is one of the naturally gifted plants; though its nutraceutical properties as a food or as a quasi-drug are poorly understood or undervalued by people. Accordingly, this scrutiny, demand for instigation of public health awareness campaigns to promote papaya consumption, so that the society shall acquire optimal benefits of papaya and in turn prevent and alleviate various diseases and illness.
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