Angiotherapeutics from natural products: from bench to clinics?

Angiogenesis offers an enormous potentials for therapeutic intervention of many disorders afflicting mankind at present. With the identification of the major molecular players involved in the sequence of events leading to the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing capillaries, inhibition or induction of the process may now be regulated. Bioactive compounds from natural sources may be used as regulatory agents. Inhibition of angiogenesis can control diseases characterized with excessive blood vessel growth like cancer, arthritis, psoriasis and diabetes retinopathy. Stimulation of angiogenesis would be favorable in the treatment of ischemic disorders and tissue engineering. An increasing number of bioactive compounds from natural sources and whose chemical structures have already been elucidated are reported as either potential inhibitors or inducers of angiogenesis. Drug development from natural products is a fast-emerging field that needs to be supported to provide people with more readily available and affordable healthcare.