PHARMACOLOGICAL PROFILE OF NATURAL-PRODUCTS USED TO TREAT PSYCHOTIC ILLNESSES

Natural products have a long history of being the sources for therapeu tic drugs in medicine, Investigations of natural products also have th e potential for enhancing our understanding about the pathophysiology and treatment of various disorders. The screening assays described her e were conducted on the phytochemical and pharmacological profiles of natural products used to treat psychotic illnesses in Korean tradition al medicine, which are eligibly archived in Tongeuibogam, a traditiona l medicinal book in Korea. Two rounds of radioligand receptor binding assays on natural products demonstrated that many plants show potent s electivity to various receptors, especially monoamine receptors presum ed to be involved in mental disorders. Further studies for the pharmac ologic activity of active ingredients and in vivo behavioral profiles focusing on the central nervous system (CNS) effects are currently und er way with these plant extracts, These investigations may lead to the development of new psychotropic drugs with no serious side effects, a major concern for modern psychopharmacology.