Secondary Metabolites from Mozambican Plants

Plants, microbes, and invertebrates, i.e. all living organisms, produce a vast array of compounds known as natural products or simply secondary metabolites. The
production of these secondary metabolites is not believed to promote the growth of the particular specie, instead they have other functions. It may, for example, be secondary metabolites that are useful for a chemical defence against predators, or for the protection and survival during environmental stress.
The secondary metabolites produced by living organisms are well known to possess a wide range of biological activities, which in some cases are useful to man.
Antibiotics such as penicillin were isolated from fungi, and quinine was isolated
from plants of the genus Cinchona and used medicinally as antimalarials. Also nonpharmaceutical green teas contain products derived from nature and used by humans for their health benefits. As the investigations of natural products have resulted in a remarkable number of compounds that benefit humans, the continued study of secondary metabolites and natural products has and continues to be of great importance.