Article Id:JPRS-ND-00001339 Title:Plant natural products: Their pharmaceutical potential against disease and drug resistant microbial pathogens Category:Natural Drugs Section:Review Article
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Plants contain diverse groups of phytochemicals such as tannins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids that possess enormous antimicrobial potential against bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. These are much safer than synthetic drugsand show lesser side effects. Approximately 25 to 50 % of current pharmaceuticals are derived from plants. Plant products are also used for the treatment of skin urinary, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, which also show antidiarrheal, hepato-protective, hypoglycemic, lipid lowering, antiseptic, and antioxidant activities. Few important plant products such as ellagic acid coumarin, gallic acid, benzenoide, chebulic acid, corilagin, punicalagin, terchebulin, terflabin A-tannin, ellagic acid, ethyl acetate, galloyl glucose and chebulagic acid, triterpenes, flavonoids, quercetin, pentacyclic triterpenoids, guajanoic acid, saponins, carotenoids, lectins, leucocyanidin, ellagic acid, amritoside, beta- sitosterol, uvaol, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid are considered as prominent antimicrobial agents. Natural products also exhibit high susceptibility to drug resistant microbial pathogens such as methicillin- resistant and methicillin- sensitive strains of Staphylococcus aureus. These effectively check proliferation of MRSA. Some of these natural products are used as alternative medicine which are much safer and show lesser side effects than the synthetic drugs. Plant products have ethnopharmacological importance and are used as traditional medicine and food by local tribes.