Lead/Drug Discovery from Natural Resources

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Drug Discovery

Background:

• Natural products have historically served as a vital source for drug discovery, yielding significant anti-infective and anticancer agents.
• Nature's vast biodiversity offers a continuous supply of novel therapeutic compounds with unique chemical structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review potent natural product-derived drugs and lead compounds discovered from 2016 to 2022.
• To cover anticancer, anti-HIV, antibacterial, and antimalarial agents, including marine bioactive products.
• To briefly review the role of computational techniques in natural product drug discovery.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of natural product-derived therapeutics and lead compounds.
• Inclusion of marine bioactive products with distinct structures.
• Consideration of computer-assisted techniques like molecular modeling and machine learning.

Main Results:

• Identification of numerous natural product-related compounds with significant therapeutic potential.
• Focus on agents discovered or developed between 2016 and 2022.
• Inclusion of marine-derived compounds and their structural characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Natural products remain a crucial resource for developing novel drugs against major diseases.
• Computational methods are increasingly important for identifying and optimizing natural product-based drug candidates.
• Continued exploration of natural sources, especially marine environments, is essential for future drug discovery.