Natural Product in Drug Discovery: Back to Future
D. B. Shelar* and P. J. ShiroteDepartment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Appasaheb Birnale College of Pharmacy, Sangli, Maharashtra India.
Abstract: Current research in drug discovery from medicinal plants involves a multifaceted approach combining botanical, phytochemical, biological, and molecular technique. Natural products have played a key role in pharma research, as many medicines are either natural products or derivatives thereof. Indeed, it is estimated that about 40% of all medicines is either natural products or their semi-synthetic derivatives. This may not be surprising as herbal medicine is a tradition of healthcare since ancient times and with natural extracts screening has been one of the roots of pharma research, where erythromycin and rifampicin (bacterial infections), statins (cholesterol lowering/ hyperlipidemia), quinines and artimesinin (malaria), paclitaxel, vinblastin and vincristin (cancer), are a few well-known natural products-based medicines. Various screening approaches are being developed to improve the ease with which natural products can be used in drug discovery. An increase in productivity in the drug discovery process has been achieved with the implementation of library chemistry and HTS technologies. The ethnopharmacology knowledge and its systems approach supported by experiential base can serve as an innovative and powerful discovery engine for newer, safer and affordable medicines. So in this review we are discussing about the drug discovery from natural product provide an important source for drug research in future.
Keywords: Natural plant; Drug discovery; technology Back to TOC