Sen Tuhinadri, Samanta Samir Kumar
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and School of Natural Product Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700032, India,
Adv Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 2015;147:59-110. doi: 10.1007/10_2014_273.
Biodiversity contributes significantly towards human livelihood and development and thus plays a predominant role in the well being of the global population. According to WHO reports, around 80 % of the global population still relies on botanical drugs; today several medicines owe their origin to medicinal plants. Natural substances have long served as sources of therapeutic drugs, where drugs including digitalis (from foxglove), ergotamine (from contaminated rye), quinine (from cinchona), and salicylates (willow bark) can be cited as some classical examples.Drug discovery from natural sources involve a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, biological, and molecular techniques. Accordingly, medicinal-plant-based drug discovery still remains an important area, hitherto unexplored, where a systematic search may definitely provide important leads against various pharmacological targets.Ironically, the potential benefits of plant-based medicines have led to unscientific exploitation of the natural resources, a phenomenon that is being observed globally. This decline in biodiversity is largely the result of the rise in the global population, rapid and sometimes unplanned industrialization, indiscriminate deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and finally global climate change.Therefore, it is of utmost importance that plant biodiversity be preserved, to provide future structural diversity and lead compounds for the sustainable development of human civilization at large. This becomes even more important for developing nations, where well-planned bioprospecting coupled with nondestructive commercialization could help in the conservation of biodiversity, ultimately benefiting mankind in the long run.Based on these findings, the present review is an attempt to update our knowledge about the diverse therapeutic application of different plant products against various pharmacological targets including cancer, human brain, cardiovascular function, microbial infection, inflammation, pain, and many more.
生物多样性对人类生计和发展做出了重大贡献，因此在全球人口的福祉中发挥着主导作用。根据世界卫生组织的报告，全球约80%的人口仍依赖植物药；如今，几种药物都源自药用植物。天然物质长期以来一直是治疗药物的来源，洋地黄（来自毛地黄）、麦角胺（来自受污染的黑麦）、奎宁（来自金鸡纳树）和水杨酸盐（柳树皮）等药物就是一些经典例子。从天然来源发现药物涉及多方面的方法，结合了植物学、植物化学、生物学和分子技术。因此，基于药用植物的药物发现仍然是一个重要领域，迄今为止尚未得到充分探索，系统的搜索肯定可以针对各种药理学靶点提供重要线索。具有讽刺意味的是，植物药的潜在益处导致了对自然资源的不科学开发，这种现象在全球都能观察到。生物多样性的下降很大程度上是全球人口增长、快速且有时无计划的工业化、滥伐森林、对自然资源的过度开发、污染以及最终全球气候变化的结果。因此，保护植物生物多样性至关重要，以便为人类文明的可持续发展提供未来的结构多样性和先导化合物。这对发展中国家尤为重要，精心规划的生物勘探与无损商业化相结合有助于保护生物多样性，最终从长远来看造福人类。基于这些发现，本综述旨在更新我们对不同植物产品针对各种药理学靶点（包括癌症、人类大脑、心血管功能、微生物感染、炎症、疼痛等）的多种治疗应用的认识。
