Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery Approaches
Summary
Natural products have long served as a foundational reservoir for therapeutic agents, owing to their unparalleled structural diversity and evolved biological functions. Integral to modern drug discovery, these compounds range from plant alkaloids and microbial peptides to marine metabolites, each offering unique scaffolds and mechanisms of action. The discovery pipeline typically begins with the careful selection and authentication of source organisms, followed by extraction and fractionation guided by bioassays. Advanced analytical techniques, including high‐resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance, enable rapid structure elucidation, while bioactivity screening—both phenotypic and target‐based—identifies promising leads. Computational methods such as molecular modelling, virtual screening and database mining further streamline hit prioritisation and analogue design. Critical challenges include sustainable supply, which is addressed through biotechnological production, total synthesis and optimisation of culturing methods. Successful translation from hit to lead demands an interdisciplinary approach that integrates chemical biology, pharmacology and process chemistry. Real-world applications span anti-infectives, anticancer agents and metabolic disease modulators, underscoring the global significance of natural product drug discovery for tackling emerging health threats.
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Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery Approaches publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in natural product-based drug discovery approaches across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Bioassay-guided fractionation: A stepwise process in which crude extracts are partitioned and tested for biological activity to isolate active constituents.
High-throughput screening (HTS): Automated testing of large compound libraries against biological targets to rapidly identify potential drug leads.
Virtual screening: Computational evaluation of compound databases by docking or pharmacophore modelling to predict binding affinity to target sites.
References
- Plant-Derived Anticancer Compounds as New Perspectives in Drug Discovery and Alternative Therapy. Molecules (2021).
- Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products: A review. Biotechnology Advances (2015).
- Marine natural products. Natural Product Reports (2014).
- Modern Approaches in the Discovery and Development of Plant-Based Natural Products and Their Analogues as Potential Therapeutic Agents. Molecules (2022).
- Natural products and drug discovery. National Science Review (2022).
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