Functional Properties of Natural Products and Human Health

Natural products (NPs), broadly defined as chemicals produced by living organisms including microbes, marine organisms, animals, fungi and plants, are widely used as therapeutic agents for treating diseases and maintaining health and “wellness”. NPs are regarded as an important repository for the development of potential novel drugs, as they may serve as either drug candidates or lead compounds for drug design. NPs have evolved over millions of years and acquired a unique chemical diversity, occupying a much greater chemical space than those created through synthetic chemistry methods, which consequently results in the diversity of their bioactivities and drug-like properties. Plant derived therapeutics, which may reach the pharmaceutic market as pure compounds or as complex mixtures containing thousands of different molecules, have several advantages, including wide availability, diverse pharmacological actions and a generally good profile of safety and tolerability. As novel therapeutic targets have emerged in recent times, the development of state-of-the-art technologies can be applied to drug discovery from natural sources. Therefore, there have been numerous reports from clinical studies testifying to the efficacy of medicinal plants and phytochemicals in ameliorating several human diseases such as cancers and inflammatory, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic and infectious diseases. A plethora of basic in vitro and in vivo studies have also unraveled molecular mechanisms underlying NPs’ health benefits.