Natural Useful Therapeutic Products from Microbes

Abstract

Nature is an attractive source of new therapeutic candidates as a tremendous chemical diversity is found in millions of species of plants, animals, marine organisms and microorganisms. Natural products remain an important source of new drugs, new drug leads and new chemical entities. The exploitation of microorganisms to produce food ingredients has been going on since antiquity. Microorganisms are being employed, since several decades for the large scale production of a variety of bio-chemicals ranging from alcohol to antibiotics and in processing of foods and feeds. Microorganisms have great potential as natural sources of drugs for the treatment and prevention of diseases like cancer, anaemia, diarrhoea, obesity, diabetes, atopic dermatitis, Crohn's disease, etc. They are also potential sources of natural antioxidants, colours, immuno-suppressants, enzyme inhibitors, hypocholesterolemic agents, vitamins, enzymes, and antibiotics.