Cell-Based Assays in Natural Product-Based Drug Discovery

The successful conversion of natural products (NPs) into lead compounds and novel pharmacophores has emboldened the researchers to harness the drug discovery process with a lot more enthusiasm. However, forfeit of bioactive NPs resulting from an overabundance of metabolites and their wide dynamic range have created the bottleneck in NP researches. Similarly, the existence of multidimensional challenges, including the evaluation of pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety parameters, has been a concerning issue. Advancement of technology has brought the evolution of traditional natural product researches into the computer-based assessment exhibiting pretentious remarks about their efficiency in drug discovery. The early attention to the quality of the NPs may reduce the attrition rate of drug candidates by parallel assessment of ADMET profiling. This article reviews the status, challenges, opportunities, and integration of advanced technologies in natural product research. Indeed, emphasis will be laid on the current and futuristic direction towards the application of newer technologies in early-stage ADMET profiling of bioactive moieties from the natural sources. It can be expected that combinatorial approaches in ADMET profiling will fortify the natural product-based drug discovery in the near future.

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CYANOS: A Data Management System for Natural Product Drug Discovery Efforts Using Cultured Microorganisms

Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling ◽

10.1021/ci100280a ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 171-180 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

George E. Chlipala ◽

Aleksej Krunic ◽

Shunyan Mo ◽

Megan Sturdy ◽

Jimmy Orjala

Keyword(s):

Drug Discovery ◽

Data Management ◽

Natural Product ◽

Management System ◽

Data Management System

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Natural Product Drug Discovery: The Times Have Never Been Better

Chemistry & Biology ◽

10.1016/j.chembiol.2007.10.004 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 14 (10) ◽

pp. 1098-1104 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Ute Galm ◽

Ben Shen

Keyword(s):

Drug Discovery ◽

Natural Product ◽

The Times

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Microbial Genome Mining for Natural Product Drug Discovery

Chemical Biology of Natural Products ◽

10.1201/9781315117089-1 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Drug Discovery ◽

Natural Product ◽

Genome Mining ◽

Microbial Genome

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Modern Approaches in the Discovery and Development of Plant-Based Natural Products and Their Analogues as Potential Therapeutic Agents

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules27020349 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 349

Author(s):

Asim Najmi ◽

Sadique A. Javed ◽

Mohammed Al Bratty ◽

Hassan A. Alhazmi

Keyword(s):

Natural Products ◽

Drug Discovery ◽

Natural Product ◽

Therapeutic Agents ◽

Throughput Capacity ◽

Scientific Interest ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

Natural Sources ◽

Discovery Research ◽

Drug Discovery Research

Natural products represents an important source of new lead compounds in drug discovery research. Several drugs currently used as therapeutic agents have been developed from natural sources; plant sources are specifically important. In the past few decades, pharmaceutical companies demonstrated insignificant attention towards natural product drug discovery, mainly due to its intrinsic complexity. Recently, technological advancements greatly helped to address the challenges and resulted in the revived scientific interest in drug discovery from natural sources. This review provides a comprehensive overview of various approaches used in the selection, authentication, extraction/isolation, biological screening, and analogue development through the application of modern drug-development principles of plant-based natural products. Main focus is given to the bioactivity-guided fractionation approach along with associated challenges and major advancements. A brief outline of historical development in natural product drug discovery and a snapshot of the prominent natural drugs developed in the last few decades are also presented. The researcher’s opinions indicated that an integrated interdisciplinary approach utilizing technological advances is necessary for the successful development of natural products. These involve the application of efficient selection method, well-designed extraction/isolation procedure, advanced structure elucidation techniques, and bioassays with a high-throughput capacity to establish druggability and patentability of phyto-compounds. A number of modern approaches including molecular modeling, virtual screening, natural product library, and database mining are being used for improving natural product drug discovery research. Renewed scientific interest and recent research trends in natural product drug discovery clearly indicated that natural products will play important role in the future development of new therapeutic drugs and it is also anticipated that efficient application of new approaches will further improve the drug discovery campaign.

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