Herbal drug development from natural sources

Unconventional natural sources for future drug discovery.

Natural products used as food or drinks, clues from the fascinating science of zoopharmacognosy, terrestrial animals and their excreta, and many other NPs not primarily known for their medical use, seem to have, to a great extent, escaped the attention of natural product research. It is nevertheless highly probable that these sources could contain biologically active compounds, some of which wi...

Antimicrobial compounds from natural sources

Infectious diseases are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Nowadays many infections are often caused by multi-resistant microorganisms resulting in difficult to treat diseases and, consequently, substantial increases in healthcare costs. The relative easy access to the antimicrobials and also the massive employment of these compounds for industrial purposes, including ...

Drug Discovery and Development from Natural Products: The Way Forward

It is well established that natural products have been a source of leads for the development of many of the most effective drugs currently available for the treatment of a variety of human diseases. Biodiversity will continue to provide novel leads for drug development, but major obstacles limit efficient progress and result in decreased interest in the pharmaceutical sector. These include prob...

Need of Innovative Approach in Herbal Drug Development

Natural Standard Herbal Pharmacotherapy

This text, published in late 2009, presents an excellent guide to herbal pharmacotherapies and is well laid out. Evidence is graded from A (Strong scientific), B (good), C (unclear or conflicting), through to D (fair negative). A series of chapters on relevant organs and diseases including Parkinson's disease, insomnia, and pain, are very comprehensive. Several diseases had some commendable and...