Biologically Active Compounds from Chilean Medicinal Plants

Abstract

The geographical isolation of Chile provided by the Andean range, the Pacific Ocean, and the Atacama desert, has produced a unique flora of ca. 5000 species, with a high degree of endemism (ca. 50%). The land has been inhabited for over 20,000 years by peoples who have developed rich traditions in the medicinal use of native plants, continuing to a large extent up to the present.