Chemotaxonomy, an Efficient Tool for Medicinal Plant Identification: Current Trends and Limitations

This review highlights the critical role of chemotaxonomy in the identification, authentication, and discovery of bioactive compounds in medicinal plants. By analyzing secondary metabolites using techniques like UV spectroscopy, FTIR, HPLC, GC-MS, NMR, LC-MS-Qtof, and MALDI-TOF MS, chemotaxonomy ensures accurate plant identification, supporting the safe and effective use of plants in herbal medicine. Key secondary metabolites used in chemotaxonomic identification include alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolics, tannins, and plant peptides. Chemotaxonomy also facilitates the discovery of novel compounds with therapeutic potential, contributing to drug development. The integration of chemotaxonomy with genomics and proteomics allows a deeper understanding of plant biosynthesis and the mechanisms behind bioactive compound production. However, challenges due to variability in metabolite profiles and the lack of standardized methods remain, and future research should focus on developing global databases, improving standardization, and incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance plant identification and bioactive compound discovery. The integration of chemotaxonomy with personalized medicine offers the potential to tailor plant-based therapies to individual genetic profiles, advancing targeted treatments. This review underscores chemotaxonomy's importance in bridging traditional knowledge and modern science, offering sustainable solutions for medicinal plant use and drug development.