AAP Focus on Medicinal Plants

For millennia, medicinal plants have been a valuable source of therapeutic agents, and still many of today‘s drugs are plant-derived natural products or their derivatives. Bioactive compounds typically occur in small amounts, and they have more subtle effects than nutrients. The bioactive compounds influence cellular activities that modify the risk of disease and cure and alleviate disease symptoms. The bioactive compounds have potentially important health benefits, and these compounds can act as antioxidants, enzyme inhibitors and inducers, inhibitors of receptor activities, and inducers and inhibitors of gene expression among other actions. A wide array of biological activities and potential health benefits of medicinal plants have been reported, which include antiviral, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic properties as well as protective effects on the liver, kidney, heart, and nervous system.

Volumes will discuss each species’ bioactive compounds along with their chemical structures and pharmacological activities, which include antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, nephroprotective, etc.

The volumes aim to be a comprehensive desk reference book on bioactives and pharmacology of all the medicinal plants. It will be a sourcebook for the development of new drugs.