Molecular mechanism overview of metabolite biosynthesis in medicinal plants

Medicinal plants are essential and rich resources for plant-based medicines and new drugs. Increasing attentions are paid to the secondary metabolites of medicinal plants due to their unique biological activity, pharmacological action, and high utilization value. However, the development of medicinal plants is constrained by limited natural resources and an unclear understanding of the mechanisms underlying active medicinal ingredients, thereby rendering the utilization and exploration of secondary metabolites more challenging. Besides, with the advancement of research on biosynthesis and molecular metabolism of natural products from medicinal plants, the methods for studying the biological activity and pharmacological effects of these products are constantly evolving. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the biosynthetic pathways and related regulatory genes of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants, which has greatly advanced both basic research and the development of clinical applications for medicinal plants. In this review, we discuss the past two decades of international research on the development of medicinal plant resources, mainly focusing on the biosynthetic pathway of secondary metabolites, intracellular signal transduction processes, multi-omics applications, and the application of gene editing technology in related research progress. We also discuss future development trends to promote the deep mining and development of natural products from medicinal plants, providing a useful reference.