Indonesian medicinal plants as sources of secondary metabolites for pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

Medicinal plants are widely used in traditional medicine in both underdeveloped and
developing countries in the word until now. Some secondary metabolites isolated from
medicinal plants have been developed as modern drugs. New antimalarial artemisinin is
an example of modern medicine that developed from Artemisia annua L, a plant used
in China since 4,000 years ago. Indonesia is endowed with a rich natural resource.
The biodiversity comprises thousands plant species. Therefore, Indonesian flora and
fauna are a remarkable opportunity for the development of secondary metabolites for
pharmaceutical industry. The Indonesian National Agency for Drug and Food Control,
Republic of Indonesia (Badan Pengawas Obat dan Makanan, Republik Indonesia = BPOM
RI) classifies traditional medicine into three classes, namely jamu (Indonesian indigenous
traditional medicine), standardized herbal medicine and phytopharmaca based on its
scientific evidences. The BPOM also determined 9 medicinal plants for focusing research
for drug development. This paper discusses some secondary metabolites and their
pharmacological activities of the following 9 selected Indonesian medicinal plants namely
Piper retrofractum Vahl, Andrographis paniculata Ness, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Psidium
guajava L, Syzigium polyanthi, Morinda citrifolia, Guazuma ulmifolia Lamk, Zingiber
officinale, and Curcuma domestica collected from various publications. Furthermore,
several modern drugs derived from medicinal plants are also discussed.