Pharmaceutical substances of plant origin

While some medicinal substances continue to be directly extracted from plant material, in many instances plant-derived drugs can now be manufactured, at least in part, by direct chemical synthesis. In addition, chemical modification of many of these plant lead drugs have yielded a range of additional therapeutic substances. 

The bulk of plant-derived medicines can be categorized into a number of chemical families, including alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes and terpenoids, steroids (e.g. cardiac glycosides), as well as coumarins, quinines, salicylates and xanthines. A list of some better-known plant-derived drugs is presented in Table 1.16. 

Drug Chemical type Indication Plant producer 

Aspirin Salicylate Analgesic, anti-inflammatory Salix alba (white willow tree) and Filipendula ulmaria (meadowsweet) 

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