Bioactive compounds from medicinal plants: Focus on Piper species

This article reviews new discoveries related to the phytochemistry and biological activities of bioactive compounds from Piper species. It outlines the anticancer, anti-parasitic, and antimicrobial activities of Piper species in relation to drug discovery. The use of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants as therapeutic agents has been an important area in biomedical and natural product research. Piper species are effective medicinal plants used in folk medicine. They have traditionally been used to treat stomach ache, rheumatoid arthritis, diarrhoea and other general infections, and their efficacy has been attributed to their bioactive compounds. Bioactive compounds and extracts from Piper species have been examined and found to be of clinical importance for both malignant and non-malignant diseases. They have displayed pronounced efficacy as anticancer, antitumour and antimicrobial agents in various pharmacological studies. They have been reported to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal, and antimalarial activities. The alkaloids piperine, piperlongumine, guineensine, chabamide and pellitorine, which have been isolated from most Piper species, are able to inhibit the growth of cancer cell lines inducing apoptosis and acting as nuclear export inhibitors. These bioactive compounds can improve the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs with minimal systemic toxicity to normal cells in cancer therapy. Pinoresinol, guineensine and other bioactive compounds from this species exhibited strong antimicrobial efficacy against various microorganisms including pathogenic Vibrio strains, which are often involved in host cell invasion during Vibrio cholera infection. The anticancer, antimicrobial and antimalarial properties of Piper species are compiled to support further exploration of their bioactive compounds for drug discovery. Biomedical and pharmacological discoveries concerning their anticancer and antimicrobial properties are highlighted here for further clinical applications, which could pave the way for the proper therapeutic use of bioactive compounds and extracts from this plant species.