A natural history of botanical therapeutics

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Author(s): Schmidt B (Schmidt, Barbara), Ribnicky DM (Ribnicky, David M.), Poulev A (Poulev, Alexander), Logendra S (Logendra, Sithes), Cefalu WT (Cefalu, William T.), Raskin I (Raskin, Ilya)

Source: METABOLISM-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL    Volume: 57    Issue: 7    Pages: S3-S9    Supplement: Suppl. 1    Published: JUL 2008

Times Cited: 0     References: 73     Citation Map

Abstract: Plants have been used as a source of medicine throughout history and continue to serve as the basis for many pharmaceuticals used today. Although the modern pharmaceutical industry was born from botanical medicine, synthetic approaches to drug discovery have become standard. However, this modern approach has led to a decline in new drug development in recent years and a growing market for botanical therapeutics that are currently available as dietary supplements, drugs, or botanical drugs. Most botanical therapeutics are derived from medicinal plants that have been cultivated for increased yields of bioactive components. The phytochemical composition of many plants has changed over time, with domestication of agricultural crops resulting in the enhanced content of some bioactive compounds and diminished content of others. Plants continue to serve as a valuable source of therapeutic compounds because of their vast biosynthetic capacity. A primary advantage of botanicals is their complex composition consisting of collections of related compounds having multiple activities that interact for a greater total activity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Document Type: Article

Language: English

KeyWords Plus: RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS-AUREUS; BIOACTIVE PLANT-EXTRACTS; SESQUITERPENE LACTONES; ARTEMISIA-DRACUNCULUS; ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY; DRUG DISCOVERY; PRODUCTS; PHYTOCHEMICALS; CANCER; COMBINATIONS

Reprint Address: Ribnicky, DM (reprint author), State Univ New Jersey, Cook Coll, Biotechnol Ctr Agr & Environm, Foran Hall, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA

Addresses: 1. State Univ New Jersey, Cook Coll, Biotechnol Ctr Agr & Environm, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USA 2. Louisiana State Univ Syst, Pennington Biomed Res Ctr, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 USA

E-mail Addresses: ribnicky@aesop.rutgers.edu

Publisher: W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC, 1600 JOHN F KENNEDY BOULEVARD, STE 1800, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103-2899 USA

Subject Category: Endocrinology & Metabolism

IDS Number: 323EM

ISSN: 0026-0495

DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2008.03.001