Volume : 13, Issue : 05, May – 2026
Title:
MEDICINAL PLANTS AS A SOURCE OF NOVEL THERAPEUTIC AGENTS: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF PHYTOCHEMICAL AND PHARMACOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
Authors :
Ms. Reshma Haridas Jagtap*, Dr. Sudarshan Nagrale, Dr. Vishal Babar
Abstract :
Medicinal plants have served as an invaluable source of therapeutic agents throughout human history and continue to play a pivotal role in modern drug discovery and healthcare. The diverse array of bioactive phytochemicals present in medicinal plants, including alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, glycosides, tannins, and saponins, contribute significantly to their pharmacological activities. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the phytochemical composition, pharmacological properties, and therapeutic potential of medicinal plants. Particular emphasis is placed on their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancer, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory, and wound-healing activities. The review also highlights the contribution of medicinal plants to modern drug discovery through successful plant-derived drugs such as morphine, quinine, digoxin, paclitaxel, vincristine, and artemisinin. Furthermore, recent advances in phytopharmaceutical development, nanotechnology-based herbal formulations, metabolomics, artificial intelligence, network pharmacology, and molecular docking are discussed as emerging approaches for accelerating natural product research. The integration of traditional medicinal knowledge with contemporary scientific methodologies offers promising opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic agents. Continued phytochemical, pharmacological, and clinical investigations are essential for validating the safety, efficacy, and quality of medicinal plant-derived products and for expanding their role in evidence-based healthcare.
Keywords: Medicinal Plants, Phytochemicals, Pharmacological Activities, Natural Products, Drug Discovery, Herbal Medicine, Phytopharmaceuticals, Antioxidant Activity, Plant-Derived Drugs, Therapeutic Agents.
Cite This Article:
Please cite this article in press Reshma Haridas Jagtap et al., Medicinal Plants As A Source Of Novel Therapeutic Agents: A Comprehensive Review Of Phytochemical And Pharmacological Perspectives.., Indo Am. J. P. Sci, 2026; 13(05).
REFERENCES:
1. Newman DJ, Cragg GM. Natural products as sources of new drugs over the nearly four decades from 1981 to 2019. J Nat Prod. 2020;83(3):770-803.
2. Cragg GM, Newman DJ. Natural products: A continuing source of novel drug leads. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013;1830(6):3670-3695.
3. Atanasov AG, Waltenberger B, Pferschy-Wenzig EM, Linder T, Wawrosch C, Uhrin P, et al. Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products. Biotechnol Adv. 2015;33(8):1582-1614.
4. Rates SMK. Plants as source of drugs. Toxicon. 2001;39(5):603-613.
5. Fabricant DS, Farnsworth NR. The value of plants used in traditional medicine for drug discovery. Environ Health Perspect. 2001;109(Suppl 1):69-75.
6. Butler MS. The role of natural product chemistry in drug discovery. J Nat Prod. 2004;67(12):2141-2153.
7. Koehn FE, Carter GT. The evolving role of natural products in drug discovery. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2005;4(3):206-220.
8. Balunas MJ, Kinghorn AD. Drug discovery from medicinal plants. Life Sci. 2005;78(5):431-441.
9. Harvey AL. Natural products in drug discovery. Drug Discov Today. 2008;13(19-20):894-901.
10. Li JWH, Vederas JC. Drug discovery and natural products: End of an era or an endless frontier? Science. 2009;325(5937):161-165.
11. Veeresham C. Natural products derived from plants as a source of drugs. J Adv Pharm Technol Res. 2012;3(4):200-201.
12. Pan SY, Zhou SF, Gao SH, Yu ZL, Zhang SF, Tang MK, et al. New perspectives on how to discover drugs from herbal medicines. Pharmacol Ther. 2013;137(1):67-82.
13. Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: Issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Front Pharmacol. 2014;4:177.
14. Yuan H, Ma Q, Ye L, Piao G. The traditional medicine and modern medicine from natural products. Molecules. 2016;21(5):559.
15. Sofowora A, Ogunbodede E, Onayade A. The role and place of medicinal plants in the strategies for disease prevention. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2013;10(5):210-229.
16. Wink M. Modes of action of herbal medicines and plant secondary metabolites. Medicines. 2015;2(3):251-286.
17. Gurib-Fakim A. Medicinal plants: Traditions of yesterday and drugs of tomorrow. Mol Aspects Med. 2006;27(1):1-93.
18. Samuelsson G. Drugs of Natural Origin. 6th ed. Stockholm: Swedish Pharmaceutical Press; 2004.
19. Heinrich M, Barnes J, Gibbons S, Williamson EM. Fundamentals of Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy. 3rd ed. London: Elsevier; 2018.
20. Evans WC. Trease and Evans Pharmacognosy. 16th ed. London: Saunders Elsevier; 2009.
21. Mukherjee PK. Quality Control and Evaluation of Herbal Drugs. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2019.
22. Cowan MM. Plant products as antimicrobial agents. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1999;12(4):564-582.
23. Cushnie TPT, Lamb AJ. Antimicrobial activity of flavonoids. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2005;26(5):343-356.
24. Daglia M. Polyphenols as antimicrobial agents. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2012;23(2):174-181.
25. Cushnie TPT, Cushnie B, Lamb AJ. Alkaloids: An overview of their antibacterial, antibiotic-enhancing and antivirulence activities. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2014;44(5):377-386.
26. Scalbert A. Antimicrobial properties of tannins. Phytochemistry. 1991;30(12):3875-3883.
27. Rice-Evans CA, Miller NJ, Paganga G. Structure-antioxidant activity relationships of flavonoids and phenolic acids. Free Radic Biol Med. 1996;20(7):933-956.
28. Halliwell B. Free radicals and antioxidants: A personal view. Nutr Rev. 1994;52(8):253-265.
29. Valko M, Rhodes CJ, Moncol J, Izakovic M, Mazur M. Free radicals and antioxidants in normal physiological functions and human disease. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2007;39(1):44-84.
30. Pietta PG. Flavonoids as antioxidants. J Nat Prod. 2000;63(7):1035-1042.
31. Middleton E Jr, Kandaswami C, Theoharides TC. The effects of plant flavonoids on mammalian cells. Pharmacol Rev. 2000;52(4):673-751.
32. Aggarwal BB, Harikumar KB. Potential therapeutic effects of curcumin. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2009;41(1):40-59.
33. Gupta SC, Patchva S, Aggarwal BB. Therapeutic roles of curcumin. AAPS J. 2013;15(1):195-218.
34. Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A review of its effects on human health. Foods. 2017;6(10):92.
35. Newman DJ, Cragg GM, Snader KM. Natural products as sources of new drugs over the period 1981-2002. J Nat Prod. 2003;66(7):1022-1037.
36. Cragg GM, Newman DJ. Plants as a source of anti-cancer agents. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005;100(1-2):72-79.
37. Shoeb M. Anticancer agents from medicinal plants. Bangladesh J Pharmacol. 2006;1(2):35-41.
38. Kingston DGI. Taxol: The chemistry and structure-activity relationships. Trends Biotechnol. 1994;12(6):222-227.
39. Noble RL. The discovery of vinca alkaloids. Biochem Cell Biol. 1990;68(12):1344-1351.
40. Klayman DL. Qinghaosu (Artemisinin): An antimalarial drug from China. Science. 1985;228(4703):1049-1055.
41. Tu Y. Artemisinin—A gift from traditional Chinese medicine to the world. Nobel Lecture. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2016;55(35):10210-10226.
42. Heinrich M. Ethnopharmacology and drug discovery. J Ethnopharmacol. 2000;73(1-2):25-31.
43. Farnsworth NR, Akerele O, Bingel AS, Soejarto DD, Guo Z. Medicinal plants in therapy. Bull World Health Organ. 1985;63(6):965-981.
44. WHO. WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2013.
45. WHO. WHO Monographs on Selected Medicinal Plants. Vol. 1-4. Geneva: WHO; 1999-2009.
46. Patwardhan B, Vaidya ADB, Chorghade M. Ayurveda and natural products drug discovery. Curr Sci. 2004;86(6):789-799.
47. Patwardhan B. Ethnopharmacology and drug discovery. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005;100(1-2):50-52.
48. Mukherjee PK, Venkatesh P, Ponnusankar S. Ethnopharmacology and integrative medicine. J Ethnopharmacol. 2010;128(3):543-554.
49. Wagner H. Synergy research: Approaching a new generation of phytopharmaceuticals. Fitoterapia. 2011;82(1):34-37.
50. Williamson EM. Synergy and other interactions in phytomedicines. Phytomedicine. 2001;8(5):401-409.
51. Bent S. Herbal medicine in the United States. J Gen Intern Med. 2008;23(6):854-859.
52. Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin RL. Complementary and alternative medicine use among adults. Natl Health Stat Report. 2008;12:1-23.
53. Tilburt JC, Kaptchuk TJ. Herbal medicine research and global health. BMJ. 2008;336:1336-1338.
54. Calixto JB. Twenty-five years of research on medicinal plants. Planta Med. 2005;71(11):973-983.
55. Hostettmann K, Marston A. Twenty years of research into medicinal plants. Phytochemistry Rev. 2002;1(3):275-285.
56. Cos P, Vlietinck AJ, Berghe DV, Maes L. Anti-infective potential of natural products. J Ethnopharmacol. 2006;106(3):290-302.
57. Savoia D. Plant-derived antimicrobial compounds. Future Microbiol. 2012;7(8):979-990.
58. Salehi B, Sharifi-Rad J, Fokou PVT, et al. Medicinal plants used in the treatment of human diseases. Biomolecules. 2019;9(11):662.
59. Sharifi-Rad J, Sureda A, Tenore GC, et al. Biological activities of essential oils. Molecules. 2017;22(1):70.
60. Atanasov AG, Zotchev SB, Dirsch VM, Supuran CT. Natural products in drug discovery. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2021;20(3):200-216.
61. Dias DA, Urban S, Roessner U. A historical overview of natural products in drug discovery. Metabolites. 2012;2(2):303-336.
62. Petrovska BB. Historical review of medicinal plants. Pharmacogn Rev. 2012;6(11):1-5.
63. Mahomoodally MF. Traditional medicines in Africa. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2013;10(2):115-118.
64. Yuan H, Ma Q, Cui H, Liu G, Zhao X, Li W, et al. How can synergism of traditional medicines benefit modern medicine? Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:727947.
65. Mukherjee PK. Evidence-Based Validation of Herbal Medicines. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 2015.
66. Sarker SD, Nahar L. Natural medicine: The genus Artemisia. Curr Med Chem. 2004;11(11):1479-1500.
67. Pandey KB, Rizvi SI. Plant polyphenols as dietary antioxidants. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2009;2(5):270-278.
68. Krishnaiah D, Sarbatly R, Bono A. Phytochemical antioxidants. Food Bioprod Process. 2007;85(1):1-9.
69. Harborne JB, Williams CA. Advances in flavonoid research. Phytochemistry. 2000;55(6):481-504.
70. Crozier A, Jaganath IB, Clifford MN. Dietary phenolics. Nat Prod Rep. 2009;26(8):1001-1043.
71. Panche AN, Diwan AD, Chandra SR. Flavonoids: An overview. J Nutr Sci. 2016;5:e47.
72. Kumar S, Pandey AK. Chemistry and biological activities of flavonoids. Sci World J. 2013;2013:162750.
73. Balandrin MF, Klocke JA, Wurtele ES, Bollinger WH. Natural plant chemicals in medicine. Science. 1985;228(4704):1154-1160.
74. Hostettmann K, Queiroz EF, Vieira PC. Principles of medicinal plant chemistry. Phytochem Rev. 2003;2:1-15.
75. Tiwari P, Kumar B, Kaur M, Kaur G, Kaur H. Phytochemical screening and extraction. Int Pharm Sci. 2011;1(1):98-106.
76. Sasidharan S, Chen Y, Saravanan D, Sundram KM, Latha LY. Extraction, isolation and characterization of bioactive compounds. Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2011;8(1):1-10.
77. Azmir J, Zaidul ISM, Rahman MM, et al. Techniques for extraction of bioactive compounds. J Food Eng. 2013;117(4):426-436.
78. Zhang A, Sun H, Wang X. Metabolomics in medicinal plant research. Planta Med. 2013;79(9):807-818.
79. Hopkins AL. Network pharmacology: The next paradigm in drug discovery. Nat Chem Biol. 2008;4(11):682-690.
80. Ekins S, Puhl AC, Zorn KM, et al. Exploiting machine learning for end-to-end drug discovery and development. Nat Mater. 2019;18(5):435-441.