Therapeutic applications of natural products in herbal medicines, biodiscovery programs, and biomedicine

Natural products had been one of the important sources of remedial agents for thousands of years. From the data presented in this review, the utilization of biologically active natural products in traditional medicines and drug discoveries is still alive and well. This review presents the medicinal applications of natural products in both the traditional and modern medicines and shed lights on historical connections of this two medical system as well as identifies the potential sources of natural products that have been scantily explored till date. More than 85-90 % of the world populations rely on traditional medicines that use natural products, for their primary health services. Almost 73 % of the current pharmaceutical products/drugs are derived from natural products including medicinal agents from traditional medicines. These drugs are discovered from different sources including plants, animals and microbes. While plants had been the reliable sources of anticancer and antiparasitic drugs, microbial sources especially the Streptpmyces (actinomycetes) had been known for their antibiotic and anti-infective properties. More than 80-90 % of the world’s biodiversity including plants, marine world, animals, microbes and extremophiles remain under-explored for medicinal applications and merits our attention in near future