Natural products as veritable source of novel drugs and medicines: A review

Abstract

Natural medicine has become a popular form of healthcare worldwide. Its impact on global healthcare delivery has progressed significantly over the years. The contribution of natural products to global healthcare is enormous, having provided key lead compounds from the metabolites for the development of synthetic molecules. Natural products are expected to play an invaluable role as one of the major sources of novel drugs in the years ahead. This is due to the incomparable structural diversity, relatively small dimensions of them and the seemingly drug-like properties. The renewed interest in natural products research in the last three decades is fueled by the landmark developments in separation methods, spectroscopic techniques and sensitive biological assays, as well the failure of currently available medicines to combat resurgent and emerging diseases. The review will describe the critical role of natural products in drug discovery and development, and the clinical applications of drugs of ethnic origin in the treatment and management of human diseases.