History of Medicinal Plants as Sources of Medically Active Metabolites

Secondary metabolites, mainly of plants, fungi and microorganisms have historically been - and continue to be - an important and successful source of medicines. "A number of widely-used anticancer therapeutics originate from natural sources, such as irinotecan, vincristine, etoposide and paclitaxel from plants, actinomycin D and mitomycin C from bacteria as well as marine-derived bleomycin."[1] These compounds derive from adaption of organisms to their biotic and abiotic environment, to enhance their competitiveness and survival. In medicine, especially areas of infectious diseases and oncology have benefited from these numerous drug classes, able to interact with many specific targets within the cell [2]. In a 2021 study, Huang et al. state that an estimated 25% percent of all newly approved anti-cancer drugs, that had been discovered between 1981 and 2019 were related to natural products.[3] A study from 2016 suggests this number could be even larger, specifically it claims the NPs based cancer treatments available between 1940 and 2014 made up 68% of the total available cancer medications.

​

Historically, it is believed that the first herbals (collections of texts about the medicinal use of plants) were compiled in China nearly 5000 years ago. Similar text collections were produced by Egyptian, Greco-Roman and Arab peoples. The first printed herbal is believed to date back to 1469 and is based on Pliny’s Historia naturalis. The first English version of a herbal was printed in 1526 by Treveris and is based on the French Grand Herbiers from the 1480’s.[4] The first usage of natural products for medicinal purposes, however, dates further back than its written documentation.

​

[1] (Huang & Lu, 2021)

[2] (Dias, Urban, & Roessner, 2012)

[3] (Huang & Lu, 2021)

[4] (Sims, 2013)