Biochemistry & Pharmacology: Open Access
Open Access
ISSN: 2167-0501
+44-20-4587-4809
ISSN: 2167-0501
+44-20-4587-4809
Gopal Rao Mallavarapu
Accepted Abstracts: Biochem & Pharmacol
Since times immemorial, higher plants have been used as a source of drugs for the alleviation of human ailments. Traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani of India, the traditional medicine of China and the folklore medical practices of several other countries utilise higher plants in their medicinal preparations. According to World Health Organisation, an estimated 80% of the world population still depend on traditional systems of medicine consisting of herbs and the products derived from them for their primary health care. With the advent of scientific and technological developments, several medicinal plants of various countries were investigated and the bioactive constituents of the plants isolated and characterized. This activity resulted in the discovery and introduction of several important plant based drugs. Some of the important plant derived drugs are the antihypertensive drug, reserpine from Rauwolfia serpentina , the anticancer agents vinblastine and vincristine from Catharanthus roseus , the anticancer principles camptothecin (from Camptotheca acuminata and Nothapodytes nimmoniana ), paclitaxel (from Taxus brevifolia ), the antimalarial drug artemisinin (from Artemisia annua). Advances in the development of bioactive constituents of medicinal plants from time to time and how they contributed to modern medicine will be presented. It is understood that satisfactory medication is available only for one third of the known diseases. Despite the fact that a large number of plant based drugs are available, several ailments like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, etc., continue to evade satisfactory solution. Hopefully, future research on the bioactive natural products and medical science will help in the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of above mentioned ailments.
Gopal Rao Mallavarapu obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Georgetown University, Washington DC in USA. He worked as scientist in CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Centre, Bangalore and retired from service in 1998. His specialisation is chemistry of natural products, processing of medicinal and aromatic plants and characterisation of essential oils. He published more than 120 research papers in reputed journals, five book chapters and has six patents to his credit. Presently, he is helping Ph.D. students in their research projects.