Natural Products and Medicinal Plants Research

Natural Products Research

Natural products research continues to explore a variety of lead structures, which may be used as templates for the development of new drugs by the pharmaceutical industry. These approved substances, representative of very wide chemical diversity, continue to demonstrate the importance of compounds from natural sources in modern drug discovery efforts.  There is no doubt that natural products have been, and will be, important sources of new pharmaceutical compounds.  Natural products research is undergoing a second golden age driven by genomics, advances in our understanding of the molecular genetics of natural product biosynthesis, chemical biology solutions to identifying molecular targets and mechanism of action, and new analytical techniques. In particular, natural products from marine organisms have delivered unique molecular scaffolds that interact with cellular macromolecules and pathways, altering phenotype and physiology in ways not seen by molecules from other sources. In addition to informing scientists of how biological systems function, the role of natural products as ligands with highly specific affinities for disease-relevant targets has presented opportunities for designing therapies for human disease including cancer, neurological disorders, and many infectious pathogens.