Rediscovery of natural compounds acting via multitarget recognition and noncanonical pharmacodynamical actions
Mariano Bizzarri1, Alessandro Giuliani2, Noemi Monti3
1Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy; Systems Biology Group Lab, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Most drugs have a natural compound 'ancestor' acting as the lead molecule. Classic pharmacology does not explicitly take into consideration the peculiarities of natural origin compounds, the mechanism of action of which is interpreted by the same target-specific mode of action used for synthetic molecules. Over the past few decades, this approach has entered a crisis of efficacy, requiring general reconsideration of the nature of chemobiological interactions. Taking both the unique properties of natural compounds and their original presence in complex mixtures into account pushes researchers to enlarge the range of mechanisms of action well beyond the drug-receptor interaction and has the potential to overcome the current drug discovery crisis.
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