Antimicrobial activity of terpenes isolated from African plants

In contrast to their value in providing a range of pharmaceuticals for other purposes, higher plants have so far failed to provide much in the way of antimicrobials. There are valid reasons for continuing the search: plants normally protect themselves against bacterial, fungal and probably viral attack. The range of secondary metabolites that they produce to protect themselves is huge, exceeding the scope of human imagination, and presents a far richer source of active compounds than, for example, 'combinatorial chemistry'. Finally, higher plants are used very widely in developing countries for the treatment of microbial infections.