Abstract

SECONDARY METABOLITES OF PLANTS IN DRUGS DISCOVERY

Wungsem Rungsung*, Kshirod Kumar Ratha, Sreya Dutta, Amit Kumar Dixit, Jayram Hazra

Abstract

Nature has produced wonderfully complex molecules that no synthetic chemist could ever dream of. It was only after the isolation of Morphine from the opium poppy plant people realized that bioactive compounds present in plants are responsible for their therapeutic properties. Thenceforth, plants are considered as a ‘biosynthetic laboratory’ for a multitude of chemical compounds known as active constituents that exert physiological effects and give plants their therapeutic properties. An integrative approach by combining the various modern discovery techniques and the new disciplines of integrative biology will positively provide the key to discover many new and novel drugs from plants in the near future.

Keywords: Secondary metabolites, therapeutic properties, biosynthetic laboratory, blueprints, novel drugs