Drug Development from Natural Resource: A Systematic Approach

Abstract

Modern research in drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multidimensional approach combining botanical, phytochemical, biochemical combinatorial chemistry and bioassay-guided fractionation approaches. Natural sources continue to provide an alternative as pharmacological leads against various devastating diseases such as diabetes, CVD, cancer etc. Nowadays, there is enormous requirement of safe and effective drugs in the world. This has prompted scientists to revert back towards natural resources as a potential source of therapeutics for treatment and management of such chronic and fatal diseases. However, there are certain serious challenges and limitations in this field including scale up and commercialization of active compounds which allow only one in thousand lead molecules to be developed as drug. A systematic and scientific approach is an essential requirement for drug development from natural resource. This mini review provides an overview of the methods involved in natural product research starting from crude plant extract to bioactive pharmacological lead. Moreover, it also discusses the limitations of working concerning the bioactivity of medicinal plants.

Integration of Biochemometrics and Molecular Networking to Identify Antimicrobials in Angelica keiskei

“…The traditional workflow for natural product discovery is bioassay-guided fractionation [1–2], in which bioactive extracts and subsequent fractions are chromatographically separated and retested for bioactivity until active compounds have been isolated. Because botanical extracts contain thousands of individual constituents, it is often difficult to assign activity to individual components, thus, the most abundant or easily isolatable compounds are often presumed to be responsible for bioactivity [3–4].…”

“…The virtually limitless chemical diversity of natural products, particularly botanicals, results from their complex biosynthetic pathways, and many plant secondary metabolites, including flavonoids, alkaloids, and coumarins, have shown antimicrobial activity [1, 5, 7–10]. Angelica keiskei Koidzumi (Apiaceae), or ashitaba, is a member of the Angelica genus native to the southernmost islands of Japan that is popularly utilized as a food and a medicinal herb, purportedly to extend life expectancy, increase vitality, and to treat a broad range of diseases and infections [11].…”

Natural Products Phenols as Novel Antithrombotic Agents

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] Natural products are divided into diverse chemical compounds isolated from varied biological sources such as plants, animals, marine organisms, microorganisms, minerals, and organic matters. [26][27][28][29] In recent years, the research on natural products becomes a hot issue in drug research. The drug discovery from natural products possess several advantages such as timeliness, faster and better methods for bioassay screening, and compound isolation.…”

Flavonnoids with Antithrombotic Activities: a Review

“…[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] Natural products are divided into diverse chemical compounds isolated from varied biological sources such as plants, animals, marine organisms, microorganisms, minerals, and organic matters. [36][37][38][39] In recent years, the research on natural products becomes a hot issue in drug research. The drug discovery from natural products possesses several advantages such as timeliness, faster and better methods for bioassay screening, and compound isolation.…”