Research on Natural Products of Medical Plants

Dear Colleagues,

For millennia, medicinal plants have been a valuable source of therapeutic agents, and many of today's drugs are plant-derived natural products or their derivatives. Natural products and their biological activities are a subject of great interest in the pharmaceutical, health food, and cosmetics industries. The number of scientific studies in this field is increasing rapidly. Natural compounds have demonstrated anticancer, immunostimulating, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective properties. Of the drugs approved between 1981 and 2019, 3.8% correspond to unaltered natural products and 18.9% are natural product derivates. Natural products have a significant role in drug discovery, and new studies with natural compounds are increasingly required to elucidate the molecular and pharmacological mechanisms needed to increase our clinical arsenal in the treatment of several diseases.

Prof. Dr. Cristiane Aguiar Da Costa
Prof. Dr. Graziele Freitas De Bem
Topic Editors