Main description:

In 1860, Oliver Wendell Holmes pointedly expressed himself to the Massachusetts Medical Society: "I firmly believe that if the whole Material Medica, as now used, could be sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for mankind, and all the worst for the fishes." Should one think the same about the current approach in drug discovery from plants? Probably yes. Despite the spending of billions of US dollars, and three decades of efforts, high-throughput screenings have only allowed the discovery of a couple of drugs. One could have reasonably expected the discovery of an arsenal of drugs from the millions of plant extracts randomly tested, but "hits" can be inactive in vitro or too toxic, some molecules need to be metabolized first to be active, and false-positive and false-negative results are common. The bitter truth is that the robotic approach in discovering drugs from plants has proven, to date, its inability to excavate the hundreds of molecules that will contribute to the health progress of Man. However, one can reasonably see that the last patches of primary rainforest on earth hold still hundreds of spectacularly active drugs that await discovery.

Contents:

1. Anti-Inflammatory Plants

1.1. General Concept

1.2. Inhibitors of Phospholipase A2

Medicinal Aristolochiaceae

Aristolochia indica L.

Aristolochia kaempferi Willd.

Aristolochia recurvilabra Hance

Thottea grandiflora Rottb.

Medicinal Myristicaceae

Horsfieldia amygdalinia (Wall.) Warb.

Horsfieldia valida (Miq.) Warb.

Medicinal Caprifoliaceae

Lonicera japonica Thunb.

Sambucus javanica Reinw. ex Bl.

Weigela floribunda (Sieb. & Zucc.) K. Koch.

Medicinal Asteraceae

Cirsium japonicum DC

Crossotephium chinense L.

1.3. Inhibitors of Cyclooxygenase

Medicinal Apocynaceae

Trachelospermum asiaticum (Sieb. & Zucc.) Nak.

Medicinal Clusiaceae

Garcinia atroviridis Griff.

Medicinal Asteraceae

Chrysanthemum sinense Sab.

Medicinal Polygonaceae

Polygonum amphibium L.

Medicinal Lamiaceae

Ocimum basilicum L.

Glechoma brevituba Kuprian

1.4. Inhibitors of Lipoxygenases

Medicinal Myrsinaceae

Ardisia villosa Roxb.

Medicinal Clusiaceae

Hypericum erectum Thunb.

Medicinal Asteraceae

Medicinal Apiaceae

Bupleurum chinense DC

1.5. Inhibitors of Elastase

Medicinal Asteraceae

Sigesbeckia orientalis L.

Sigesbeckia glabrescens Mak

Mikania cordata (Burm.f.) B.L. Robinson

Medicinal Droseraceae

Drosera rotundifolia L.

1.6. Inhibitors of Nitric Oxide Synthetase

Medicinal Asteraceae

Inula chinensis Rupr. ex Maxim.

Carpesium divaricatum Sieb. et Zucc

Medicinal Lauraceae

Neolitsea zeylanica Nees (Merr.) (Tetradenia

Litsea cubeba (Lour.) Pers.

Litsea odorifera Val.

Medicinal Solanaceae

Physalis alkekengi L.

1.7. Conclusion and Future Prospects

1.8. References

2. Plant Affecting the Central Nervous System

2.1. General Concept

2.2. Plants Affecting the Serotoninergic Neurotransmission

Medicinal Annonaceae

Fissistigma lanuginosum (Hook.f. & Thoms.) Merr.

Cyathostemma micranthum (A. DC.) J. Sinclair.

Medicinal Myristicaceae

Horsfieldia glabra (Bl.) Warb.

Medicinal Convolvulaceae

Ipomoea obscura (L.) Ker-Gawl.

Ipomoea digitata L.

Ipomoea indica Merr.

Medicinal Apocynaceae

Ervatamia pandacaqui (Poir.) Pichon

Ervatamia corymbosa (Roxb.) King & Gamble

Medicinal Zygophyllaceae

Tribulus terrestris L.

Medicinal Polygalaceae

Polygala tenuifolia

Polygala japonica Houtt.

Polygala glomerata Lour.

Medicinal Rubiaceae

Psychotria adenophylla Wall.

Rubia cordifolia L.

Uncaria rhynchophylla Miq.

2.3. Plants Affecting the GABAergic Neurotransmission

Medicinal Valerianaceae

Nardostachys chinensis L.

Nardostachys jatamansi DC.

Patrinia scabiosaefolia Link

Medicinal lamiaceae

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi

Leonotis nepetifolia R.Br

Medicinal Asteraceae

Artemisia stelleriana Bess.

Medicinal Orchidaceae

Gastrodia elata Bl.

Acriopsis javanica Reinw.

Bulbophyllum vaginatum Reich. f.

Calanthe triplicata (Villem.) Ames

Calanthe vestita Lindl.

Dendrobium crumenatum Sw.

2.4. Plants Interfering with the Glycinergic System

Medicinal Loganiaceae

Strychnos ignatii Berg.

Strychnos minor Dennst.

Strychnos axillaris Colebr.

Medicinal Apocynaceae

2.5. Plants Affecting the Dopaminergic Neurotransmission

Medicinal Araliaceae

Acanthopanax gracilistylus W. W. Sm.

Acanthopanax trifoliatus (L.) Merr.

Acanthopanax ricinifolius Seeman

Medicinal Verbenaceae

Vitex negundo L.

Vitex trifolia L

Vitex quinata (Lour.) F.N. Will.

Vitex vestita Wallich ex Schauer

Medicinal Sapindaceae

Erioglossum rubiginosum (Roxb.) Bl.

Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn

Dodonaea viscosa (L.) Jacq.

Medicinal Celastraceae

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f

Medicinal Lauraceae

Cassytha filiformis L.

Cryptocarya griffithiana Wight

Medicinal Ranunculaceae

Aconitum fischeri Reichb

Coptis teeta Wall.

Cimicifuga foetida L.

Medicinal Menispermaceae

Stephania cepharantha Hayata

2.6. Conclusion and Future Prospect

2.7. References

3. Plants for Chemotherapy of Neoplastic Diseases

3.1. General Concept

3.2. Topoisomerase Inhibitors

Medicinal Annonaceae

Artabotrys suaveolens Bl.

Fissistigma fulgens (Hk. f. et Th.) Merr.

Friesodielsia latifolia Hk. f. et Th.

Medicinal Lauraceae

Persea thunbergii (Sieb. & Zucc.) Kosterm.

Lindera tzumu Hemsl.

Cassytha filiformis L.

Medicinal Hernandiaceae

Illigera luzonensis L.

Medicinal Ebenaceae

Diospyros sumatrana Miq.

Diospyros toposioides King & Gamble

Medicinal Rubiaceae

Prismatomeris albiflora Thaw, non King

Knoxia valerianoide Thorel

Damnacanthus indicus Gaertn.

Neonauclea pallida (Reinw. ex Havil.) Bakh f.

Morinda officinalis How

Medicinal Rutaceae

Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Sieb. & Zucc.

Zanthoxylum bungei Planch.

Zanthoxylum piperitum (L.) DC.

Zanthoxylum schinifolium Zieb. & Zucc.

Medicinal Euphorbiaceae

Alchornea villosa (Benth.) Muell. - Arg.

Alchornea rugosa (Lour.) Muell. Arg

Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels

Macaranga triloba (Reinw.) Muell.-Arg.

Medicinal Hamamelidaceae

Altingia excelsa Noronha

Medicinal Lamiaceae

Salvia plebeia R.Br.

Salvia japonica Thunb.
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge

3.3. Apoptosis

Medicinal Annonaceae

Goniothalamus species

Pseudouvaria setosa (King) J. Sinclair

Medicinal Asteraceae

Elephantopus mollis Kunth

Blumea riparia (Bl.) DC.

Spilanthes paniculata Wall. ex DC

Lactuca indica L.

3.4. Summary and Future Prospects

3.5. References