Medicinal importance of mangrove plants

Abstract

In recent years, research on medicinal plants has attracted a lot of attention due to their importance and possibility for treatment of human diseases. Mangroves are unique group of vascular plants that occur in saline coastal habitats and are known to tolerate extreme environmental conditions. Some mangrove plants are used for a wide range of conditions, including bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases. The rise of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms is one of the severe problems in healthcare systems of the world, and infectious diseases are the second most serious cause of death worldwide. Therefore, new drugs have to be found in order to combat such diseases and it is essential to find new compounds that have antimicrobial properties. Medicinal-plant extracts, known to produce certain bioactive molecules which react with other organisms in the environment, are known to be less toxic to humans and are environmentally friendly due to the less pollutant released during production. Antimicrobial properties of medicinal plants are being increasingly reported worldwide. Mangroves are biochemically unique and produce a wide array of novel natural products and are considered a rich source of steroids, triterpenes, saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and tannins. Extracts from the leaves, stems, barks, and roots of mangrove species have shown positive results for antioxidant activity tests. Effects of mangrove extracts on some microorganisms, including Shigella sp., Staphylococcus sp., and Pseudomonas sp. have been reported in some studies in the area of pharmacology.