Natural products and anti-inflammatory activity.

The aim of this review paper was to summarise some commonly available natural products and their anti-inflammatory activity. We have collected data from MEDLINE, Current Contents and scientific journals, which included 92 publications. There are numerous natural products detailed in this literature; however we have summarized a few of the most commonly available and potent ones. In this paper, the natural products with anti-inflammatory activity including curcumin, parthenolide, cucurbitacins, 1,8-cineole, pseudopterosins, lyprinol, bromelain, flavonoids, saponins, marine sponge natural products and Boswellia serrata gum resin were reviewed. Natural products play a significant role in human health in relation to the prevention and treatment of inflammatory conditions. Further studies are being conducted to investigate the mechanism of action, metabolism, safety and long term side effect of these natural products, as well as interactions between these natural products with food and drug components.