February 19, 2024 - Natural products will play a vital part in supplying this need via the continuous exploration of global biodiversity, the majority of which remains unexplored. Even though drug discovery from medicinal plants remains an important source of novel therapeutic leads, various hurdles exist, including identifying and executing suitable high-throughput screening bioassays, scaling up the supply of bioactive molecules, and acquiring plant materials.

January 28, 2021 - Natural products have historically made a major contribution to pharmacotherapy, but also present challenges for drug discovery, such as technical barriers to screening, isolation, characterization and optimization.

In addition, we describe different analytical techniques for the authentication and fingerprinting of plant materials. Finally, we highlight the role of biopharming in developing plant-based biologics. Keywords: Natural products, Phytopharmaceutical drugs, Ethnopharmacology, Bioavailability, Biopharming

August 15, 2015 - Table 3. Approaches to select plant material for natural product drug discovery. Table 4. Basic types of bioassays for testing of phytochemicals and their comparative advantages and disadvantages. Table 5. Strategies to identify bioactive compounds from plant extracts. Table 6. Examples of hairy root cultures from plants producing important pharmacologically active molecules developed from ROOTec bioactives Ltda.

January 6, 2022 - 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.

August 14, 2026 - The study on converting phenolic monoterpenes from the essential oil of Conobea scoparioides (Plantaginaceae) using hydrotalcite synthesized from blast-furnace slag further highlights the intersection between natural product chemistry, catalysis, and the use of industrial residues, reinforcing the technological and sustainable dimensions of this research area [15].

July 8, 2026 - For instance, a highly cited article ... biosynthetic enzymes in bacteria. Plants and microbes produce natural products as secondary metabolites using genes known as biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs)....

August 14, 2026 - 2 Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Development (LADEF), Federal University of São João del-Rei, Midwest Campus (Dona Lindu), St. Sebastião Gonçalves Coelho 400, Chanadour, Divinópolis 35501-296, MG, Brazil. ... The study of plant-derived natural products remains one of the most promising avenues for discovering new bioactive agents [...].

November 2, 2023 - bioactivities/therapeutic utilities (Fig. 1) (Hao and Xiao, 2020), so as to promote bioprospecting and benefit plant-based drug R&D. Due to the fact that...

August 21, 2026 - Each group reflects distinct chemical characteristics and associated biological functions. This overview highlights the main findings from the Molecules Special Issue: "Natural Products: Isolation, Analysis and Biological Activity, 2nd Edition", focusing on three categories: (i) plant protection, plant health, and plant biotechnology; (ii) functional foods and health-promoting formulations; and (iii) therapeutic natural products and derivatives.

Strategies for engineering plant natural products: the iridoid-derived monoterpene indole alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus. ... The manipulation of pathways to make unnatural variants of natural compounds, a process often termed combinatorial biosynthesis, has been robustly successful in prokaryotic systems. The development of approaches to generate new-to-nature compounds from plant-based pathways is, in comparison, much less advanced. Success will depend on the specific chemistry of the pathway, as well as on the suitability of the plant system for transformation and genetic manipulation.

Melo et al. examine cannabidiol as a bioactive compound with antitumor activity across multiple tumor models, with an emphasis on mechanisms of cell death [18]. An et al. focus on natural products for melanoma therapy, highlighting the transition from traditional medicine to modern drug discovery [19]. Together, these contributions illustrate how natural compounds can act not only as cytotoxic agents but also as modulators of key cellular processes involved in tumor progression, survival, and therapeutic responses. Taken together, the contributions to this Special Issue demonstrate that research on plant-derived natural products is increasingly driven by an integrated, translational framework that encompasses identification, characterization, biological validation, analytical standardization, and formulation.

Secondary metabolites, like coumarins, iridoids, lignans, phenols, and terpenes (including mono-, di-, tri- and sesqui-terpenoids), offer benefits like defense and attraction. Notably, natural plant metabolites, prevalent throughout plants, hold multifaceted biological significance. They are a crucial resource for biomedical and biochemical research, propelling progress in pharmaceuticals, supplements, and functional foods. Natural products have emerged as potent inhibitors of pivotal biological processes, exerting their influence on critical facets like enzyme activity, receptor signaling, and the intricate regulation of cell growth and division.

The Osbourn lab has developed strategies for discovery of new plant natural product pathways and chemistries based on genome mining for biosynthetic gene clusters (Nützmann et al. 2016; Medema & Osbourn 2016). The HyperTrans system for rapid transient expression of genes of interest in tobacco leaves is enabling rapid functional characterisation of new enzymes and pathways.

June 19, 2013 - Wolfender and Queiroz presented ... media, specific nutrients and long cultivation times constitute another approach potentially leading to new secondary metabolites of interest for drug discovery [54]. Genome mining, the analyses of plant and microbial genome sequences for genes and gene clusters encoding proteins, is a further recent approach which has allowed the discovery of numerous novel natural products and also revealed ...

This review article discusses current advancements and future approaches for discovering natural items such as health- and wellness-promoting remedies. It also summarizes strategies to unify the therapeutic use of plant-derived natural products worldwide to support future drug discoveries derived from plant sources.

In this Special Issue, we explore recent advances in plant-derived natural products and their biomedical properties via intriguing in vitro and in vivo research articles and literature reviews. Recently, Lantzouraki et al. showed that the extracts of two Artemisia species, Artemisia arborescens and Artemisia inculta Delile, from the Greek island of Crete exhibit an interesting profile of secondary metabolites [1]. More specifically, a high phenolic and terpenoid content and safe metal levels were reported in the aqueous–glycerolic extract of these two species.

Associated challenges and major strengths of natural product-based drug discovery are critically discussed. A snapshot of the advanced plant-derived natural products that are currently in actively recruiting clinical trials is also presented.