Review of the methods used for isolating pharmaceutical lead compounds from traditional medicinal plants

The possibility of finding new medicines from natural sources is one of the most commonly cited reasons for preserving biodiversity. Further, the utilization of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants increases the likelihood of discovering these hidden medicines. The main difficulty in using natural products as a source for pharmaceutical lead compounds lies in separating the plethora of compounds from the original extract. There is also a gamble with natural products in that the time and money invested in collecting the material and elucidating the active compounds may not yield any novel structures or compounds that can be used as pharmaceutical leads. While synthetic compounds have proven to be beneficial in the past, they are limited by structural simplicity and known modes of action. The production of novel medicines, particularly for cancer treatment and inhibition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, now relies on the utilization of natural products. This paper provides a review of the current methods used in elucidating pharmaceutical lead compounds from natural sources, focusing on plant material in particular.