Many phytochemicals derived from edible medicinal plants have been investigated intensively for their various bioactivities. However, the detailed mechanism and their corresponding molecular targets frequently remain elusive. In this review, we present a summary of the research works done on phytochemical-mediated molecular targets, identified via proteomic approach. Concurrently, we also highlighted some pharmaceutical drugs which could be traced back to their origins in phytochemicals. For ease of presentation, these identified protein targets were categorized into two important healthcare-related fields, namely anti-bacterial and anti-cancer research. Through this review, we hope to highlight the usefulness of comparative proteomic as a powerful tool in phytochemical-mediated protein target identifications. Likewise, we wish to inspire further investigations on some of these protein targets identified over the last few years. With contributions from all researchers, the accumulative efforts could eventually lead to the discovery of some target-specific, low-toxicity therapeutic agents.
Keywords: Anti-bacterial; anti-cancer; enzyme; inhibition; medicinal plants; pharmaceutical.