give the importance of alkaloids in pharmacy and medicine
Alkaloid Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. They can be purified from crude extracts of these organisms by acid-base extraction. Alkaloids have a wide range of pharmacological activities including antimalarial (e.g. quinine), antiasthma (e.g. ephedrine), anticancer (e.g. homoharringtonine),[6] cholinomimetic (e.g. galantamine),[7] vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine), antiarrhythmic (e.g. quinidine), analgesic (e.g. morphine),[8] antibacterial (e.g. chelerythrine),[9] and antihyperglycemic activities (e.g. piperine).[10] Many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery. Other alkaloids possess psychotropic (e.g. psilocin) and stimulant activities (e.g. cocaine, caffeine, nicotine, theobromine),[11] and have been used in entheogenic rituals or as recreational drugs. Alkaloids can be toxic too (e.g. atropine, tubocurarine).[12] Although alkaloids act on a diversity of metabolic systems in humans and other animals, they almost uniformly evoke a bitter taste.[13]
Glucocorticoid Glucocorticoids are part of the feedback mechanism in the immune system which reduces certain aspects of immune function, such as inflammation. They are therefore used in medicine to treat diseases caused by an overactive immune system, such as allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and sepsis. Glucocorticoids have many diverse (pleiotropic) effects, including potentially harmful side effects, and as a result are rarely sold over the counter.[2] They also interfere with some of the abnormal mechanisms in cancer cells, so they are used in high doses to treat cancer. This includes inhibitory effects on lymphocyte proliferation, as in the treatment of lymphomas and leukemias, and the mitigation of side effects of anticancer drugs.