Phytochemicals as a potential source for anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and wound healing - a review

Higher plants have provided the necessities of life such as food, shelter, and clothing to humanity from the very beginning of human civilization. In addition to that, they have also been the most important source of medicine for the treatment of various ailments since time immemorial. Although there has been considerable development in the areas of synthetic drug chemistry and antibiotics, plants still occupy an important place in the traditional and modern system of medicine. Realizing the toxic effects of the synthetic drugs, the herbal medicine and the foods that derived from plants has become an alternative even in well-developed countries. Traditional medicinal plants with rich medicinal value are utilized as folk remedies and as a pharmaceutical formulation in the modern system of medicine. Some of the main phytochemicals that medicinal plants contain includes polyphenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, and terpenoids.1