Secondary metabolites of plants in drugs discovery

Nature has produced wonderfully complex molecules that no syntheticchemist could ever dream of. It was only after the isolation ofMorphine from the opium poppy plant people realized that bioactivecompounds present in plants are responsible for their therapeuticproperties. Thenceforth, plants are considered as a ‘biosyntheticlaboratory’ for a multitude of chemical compounds known as activeconstituents that exert physiological effects and give plants theirtherapeutic properties. An integrative approach by combining thevarious modern discovery techniques and the new disciplines ofintegrative biology will positively provide the key to discover manynew and novel drugs from plants in the near future.KEYWORDS: Secondary metabolites, therapeutic properties,biosynthetic laboratory, blueprints, novel drugs