Table 1.
Contributions and advancements offered through the natural products chemistry discipline.
| Drug discovery & development, semi-synthetics | Drugs and other medicaments started with herbal origins, majority of drugs herbals before advent of synthetic drugs, feasible and cost-effective approach to drugs of semi-synthetic origin, contemporarily ∼50% drugs of natural origins, new templates in drug design and new chemical entities being continuously discovered |
| Chemical synthesis | Retro-approach to biogenetic synthesis, total synthesis in a bio-mimetic pattern, new routes, new templates, and challenging molecular frameworks availability |
| Therapeutic agents | Taxol, Cephalosporins, Penicillins, Tetracyclines, Camptothecin, Etoposides, Podophyllotoxin, Combretastatin, Homoharringtonine analogs, Marine-sourced Bryostatins, Ecteinascidin, Kahalalide F, etc. |
| Bioactives | Insect-repellents, herbicides, natural pesticides, larvicidal, auxins, phytoalexins, antihelminth, anti-filarial, neuro-active, cardiovascular, anti-hyperlipidemic, liver-protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-cancers, anti-oxidants, anti-diabetics, pain-killers, anti-spasmodics, digestives, purgative, anti-ulcers, aphrodisiacs, tonics, anti-allergens, etc. |
| Economics | Developing world economy, economic up gradation in plant resource-rich nations, global imports, in-house native consumption, forest-economies, long-lasting sustenance, etc. |
| Pharmacopoeias, medical treatise, and alternative medicines | Ayurveda, Unani (Greco-Arab-Indian), Chinese as major plant-based healing systems, African, Shaman, Red-Indian and other ethnobotanical medicinal usage traditions and treatise. Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, and Siddha systems of medicinal usage |
| Consumables | Plant Pigments, Dyes, Essential oils, Fatty Acids & Lipids, Raisins and Gum, Aromatics, Alkaloids and Tannins, Neutraceuticals, Spices, Condiments, etc. |
| Plant-based drugs of abuse | Hallucinogens, Narcotics, Cannabis, Opium, Semi-synthetics derivatives thereof |
| Technical products, fibers, and plant polymers | Jute fibers, Paper, Paper-boards, etc., Pectins, Alginates, Cellulose, Marine-Sourced Products, etc. |