Current Status and Future Prospects for Select Underutilized Medicinally Valuable Plants of Puerto Rico: A Case Study

In the last century, nearly all compounds of medicinal value were derived from naturally occurring compounds found in plants, bacteria, and fungi. Yet even today several interesting plant species with potential medicinal value remain underutilized and neglected. In a changing world, where unfavorable climatic and anthropogenic scenarios threaten natural vegetation across the globe, there is an urgent need to identify and investigate underutilized medicinal plants. Also, the utilization of such species should go hand in hand with their conservation. With the island territory of Puerto Rico as an example, we present a case for such underutilized medicinal plant species which could end up being the source of the next wonder drug for humanity. We also emphasize the need for sustainable utilization of such resources to go hand in hand with their conservation.