Indonesian medicinal plants as sources of secondary metabolites for pharmaceutical industry

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.