Bioactivity Of Medicinal Plants And Extracts

Medicinal plants and natural products have played a central role in therapeutics, being considered the origin of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Plants are still a source in nature to obtain and isolate molecules with pharmacological applications (drug discovery), but can also be used as herbal medicinal products in traditional or complementary medicine. In addition, the WHO has launched a Traditional Medicine Strategy (2014-2023), including herbal medicines as medicinal therapies, with the aim to ensure the quality, safety, proper use, and effectiveness of traditional medicines, among other objectives. This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue on "Bioactivity of Medicinal Plants and Extracts" published online in the open access journal Biology. This reprint includes a collection of original research and review articles on new advances in the development and application of bioactive compounds and extracts from plant matrices.

Medicinal plants and natural products have played a central role in therapeutics, being considered the origin of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Plants are still a source in nature to obtain and isolate molecules with pharmacological applications (drug discovery), but can also be used as herbal medicinal products in traditional or complementary medicine.In addition, the WHO has launched a Traditional Medicine Strategy (2014-2023), including herbal medicines as medicinal therapies, with the aim to ensure the quality, safety, proper use, and effectiveness of traditional medicines, among other objectives.This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue on "Bioactivity of Medicinal Plants and Extracts" published online in the open access journal Biology. This reprint includes a collection of original research and review articles on new advances in the development and application of bioactive compounds and extracts from plant matrices.

Benefitting from phytochemicals in medicinal plants has lately gained increasingly more global relevance. The medicinal bioactivity might range from wound healing activity to anti-inflammatory and anti-viral effects. This work describes the challenging scientific process of systematic identification and taxonomy through molecular profiling and nanoparticle production from plant extracts until a final use for e.g. cancer or HIV treatment. From the table of contents PART A: Biodiversity & Traditional Knowledge. __Habitats and Distribution. __Threats and Conservation. __Culture, tradition and indigenous practices. PART B: Phytochemical constituents – Molecules and Characterization Techniques. __Alkaloids & Flavonoids. __Tannin, Saponnin and Taxol. __Terpenoids, Steroids and Phenolic Compounds. __Essential oil and their constituents. __Characterization Techniques used for the analysis of phytochemical constituents. PART C: Medicinal Bioactivity. __Anti-cancerous and Anti HIV activity. __Anti-microbial, Anti-inflammatory and wound healing activity. __Anti-oxidant activity. __Anti-diabetic activity. __Anti-Corona virus and anti-viral activity. PART D: Nanotechnology. __Nano-materials synthesis from medicinal plant extract. __Characterization and activity of medicinal plant based nanoparticles. PART E: Pharmacology/Drug discovery. __Plant phytochemicals in drug discovery. __Extraction and production of drugs. __System pharmacology and drug discovery.

This volume is a compilation of plenary lectures presented at the IOCD/CYTED Symposium held in Panama City, Panama in 1997, and covers different aspects of research into plants from North, South and Central America. The topics treated all revolve around the chemistry, pharmacology, and biology of these plants. The importance of pharmaceuticals derived from plant sources is described, together with the potential of ethnomedicine for providing new leads in the search for bioactive constituents. The biodiversity of the Americas is underlined and an idea is given of the urgency with which the flora must be studied.

Covers the structurally diverse secondary metabolites of medicinal plants, including their ethnopharmacological properties, biological activity, and production strategies Secondary metabolites of plants are a treasure trove of novel compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications. Consequently, the nature of these metabolites as well as strategies for the targeted expression and/or purification is of high interest. Regarding their biological and pharmacological activity and ethnopharmacological properties, this book offers a comprehensive treatment of 100 plant species, including Abutilon, Aloe, Cannabis, Capsicum, Jasminum, Malva, Phyllanthus, Stellaria, Thymus, Vitis, Zingiber, and more. It also discusses the cell culture conditions and various strategies used for enhancing the production of targeted metabolites in plant cell cultures. Secondary Metabolites of Medicinal Plants: Ethnopharmacological Properties, Biological Activity and Production Strategies is presented in four parts. Part I provides a complete introduction to the subject. Part II looks at the ethnomedicinal and pharmacological properties, chemical structures, and culture conditions of secondary metabolites. The third part examines the many strategies of secondary metabolites production, including: biotransformation; culture conditions; feeding of precursors; genetic transformation; immobilization; and oxygenation. The last section concludes with an overview of everything learned. -Provides information on cell culture conditions and targeted extraction of secondary metabolites confirmed by relevant literature -Presents the structures of secondary metabolites of 100 plant species together with their biological and pharmacological activity -Discusses plant species regarding their distribution, habitat, and ethnopharmacalogical properties -Presents strategies of secondary metabolites production, such as organ culture, pH, elicitation, hairy root cultures, light, and mutagenesis Secondary Metabolites of Medicinal Plants is an important book for students, professionals, and biotechnologists interested in the biological and pharmacological activity and ethnopharmacological properties of plants.

Medicinal Plants Are Plants Whose Extracts Can Be Used Directly Or Indirectly For The Treatment Of Different Ailments. In The World More Than 30 Per Cent Of The Pharmaceutical Preparations Are Based On Plants. Scientists Throughout The World Are Trying To Explore The Precious Assets Of Medicinal Plants To Help The Suffering Humanity. An Increasing Reliance On The Use Of Medicinal Plants In The Industrialised Societies Has Been Traced To The Extraction And Development Of Several Drugs And Chemotherapeutics From These Plants. The Medicinal Values Of These Plants Are Due To The Presence Of Small Doses Of Active Compounds Which Produces Physiological Actions In The Human And Animal Body. The Present Book Explores The Recent Developments In The Field Of Botanical Medicine. It Provides Vital Information On Various Bioactive Compounds Present In Plants And Their Use In The Synthesis Of Pharmaceuticals. Educated Readers, Practitioners, And Academics Of Natural Sciences Will Be Benefitted By The Contents Of This Work. Contents Chapter 1: Therapeutic Value Of Medicinal Plants; Chapter 2: Plant Based Biopharmaceuticals; Chapter 3: Identification Of Bioactive Compounds In Plants; Chapter 4: Plant-Based Antimicrobials; Chapter 5: Validity Of Ethnomedicines; Chapter 6: Evaluation Of Plant Extracts; Chapter 7: Forest Botanicals As Pharmaceuticals; Chapter 8: Medicinal Value Of Phytoecdysteroids; Chapter 9: Herb-Drug Interactions; Chapter 10: Bioactive Compounds In Legume Natural Products; Chapter 11: Production Of Secondary Metabolites From Medicinal Plants; Chapter 12: Herbal Pharmacokinetics; Chapter 13: Risks Of Plant Derived Vaccines; Chapter 14: Conservation Of Medicinal Plants.

The book entitled Medicinal Plants and Natural Product Research describes various aspects of ethnopharmacological uses of medicinal plants; extraction, isolation, and identification of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants; various aspects of biological activity such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, immunomodulatory activity, etc., as well as characterization of plant secondary metabolites as active substances from medicinal plants.

This book starts with a general introduction to phytochemistry, followed by chapters on plant constituents, their origins and chemistry, but also discussing animal-, microorganism- and mineral-based drugs. Further chapters cover vitamins, food additives and excipients as well as xenobiotics and poisons. The book also explores the herbal approach to disease management and molecular pharmacognosy and introduces methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of plant constituents. Phytochemicals are classified as primary (e.g. carbohydrates, lipids, amino acid derivations, etc.) or secondary (e.g. alkaloids, terpenes and terpenoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides, etc.) metabolites according to their metabolic route of origin, chemical structure and function. A wide variety of primary and secondary phytochemicals are present in medicinal plants, some of which are active phytomedicines and some of which are pharmaceutical excipients.