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Review
. 2022 Dec 14;12(12):1256.
doi: 10.3390/metabo12121256.

Interactions between Natural Products-A Review

Nemanja Rajčević  1 , Danka Bukvički  1 , Tanja Dodoš  1 , Petar D Marin  1
Affiliations
Review

Interactions between Natural Products-A Review

Nemanja Rajčević et al. Metabolites. .

Abstract

Plant-based natural products have been used as a source for therapeutics since the dawn of civilization. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 80% of the world's population relies on traditional medicine for their primary healthcare. Numerous natural extracts, widely known in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian Ayurveda medicine and other practices, have led to the modern discovery and development of new drugs. Plants continuously interact with their environment, producing new compounds and ever-changing combinations of existing ones. Interestingly, some of the compounds have shown lower therapeutic activity in comparison to the extract they were isolated from. These findings suggest that the higher therapeutic activity of the source extract was due to the synergistic effect of several compounds. In other words, the total therapeutic potential of the extract cannot be explained only by the sum of its parts alone. In traditional medicine, most herbal remedies are based on a mixture of plants, and it is the interaction between different constituents that amplifies their therapeutic potential. Considering the significant influence traditional medicine has on human healthcare, knowing and studying the synergistic effect of compounds is paramount in designing smart therapeutic agents.

Keywords: bioactive compounds; extracts; in vitro and in vivo studies; natural products; synergistic effect; therapeutic.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Most-common terpenoid compounds.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Three groups of alkaloids.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Some of the most common phenolic compounds.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Some of the studied natural products not originating from vascular plants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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