Source of Drugs

The pharmaceutical industry has employed materials of plant and animal origin as sources of drugs. The industry has utilized the life processes of either plants or animals and microorganisms to produce medicinal and antibiotic products. 

CDC = Center for Disease Control DEA = Drug Enforcement Agency NIH = National Institute of Health NCHS = National Center for Health Statistics NIDA = National Institute on Drug Abuse IMS America = commercial source of drug use statistics... 

Is Cassytha filiformis L. holding some potential as a source of drugs for the treatment of Parkinson s disease ... 

In conclusion, a massive body of evidence has been presented to show that the medicinal plants of the Pacific Rim hold serious potential as source of drugs for the treatment of CNS-related disorders. In summary, the most remarkable feature is... 

A major concern of DEA special agents is the identification of the source of drug evidence. One of the methods they use to meet this requirement is through ballistics examinations of tablets. A ballistics examination, in the sense used here, is a combination of in-depth chemical analysis and tool-mark examination of tablets and capsules for the purpose of identifying the manufacturer of the drug. The technique consists of accurate measurements of size scoring, imprints, or bevels the microscopic examination of the imperfections... 

Since the origin, the most efficient source of drugs and biological active molecules is Nature. As reported by Newman and Cragg in a recent review [1], at least 25-30% of New Chemical Entities (NCE) going under study for pharmaceutical and clinical applications are primarily derived from Nature (N) or Natural Derived (ND), while only 30% are merely synthetic, as reported in Figure 2. 

The dye industry of Europe provided another source of drugs... 

Brahmachari G. (2009) Mother nature — an inxahaustible source of drugs and lead molecules. In Brahmachari G. (ed), Natural Products Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, pp. 1-20, Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi, India. 

Plants are a rich potential source of drugs as they produce a vast array of novel bioactive molecules, many of which probably serve as chemical defences against infection or predation. In addition, the variety of different plant species present on the earth is staggering. There exist well over 265 000 flowering species alone, of which less that 1% have, thus far, been screened for the presence of any bioactive molecules of potential therapeutic use. 

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