Multi-target approach for natural products in inflammation

Although an increasing number of studies show the (pre)clinical efficiency and safety of multi-target natural products, they are still underrepresented as starting points for multi-target drug discovery. This article provides an overview about the multi-target drug concept and discusses strategies to use the enormous pharmacological knowledge of natural products with privileged structures (i.e. curcumin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, resveratrol, salicylate and quercetin) for developing anti-inflammatory multi-target drugs. Focus is placed on selecting molecular targets, judging their relevance and estimating safety concerns. An attractive aim might be to modulate natural product affinity to concrete but multiple molecular targets (based on the current knowledge of inflammation-relevant pathways) while maintaining their apparently beneficial broad target profile.