Exploration of steroidal alkaloids: Integrating pharmacognosy, chemoinformatics and artificial intelligence for...

Steroidal alkaloids are a structurally diverse class of nitrogen-containing natural products with strong pharmacological potential, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective activities. Despite their therapeutic potential, clinical translation is hindered by their structural complexity, low natural abundance, and extraction challenges. This review presents an integrated framework that bridges traditional pharmacognosy with advanced phytochemical separation, chemoinformatics, and AI-driven technologies that aid in the discovery and optimization of leads. The pharmacognostic foundation and application of high-resolution separation techniques for steroidal alkaloids have been highlighted. Chemoinformatic tools such as 3D-QSAR (CoMFA/CoMSIA), molecular docking, and pharmacophore modelling have been critically examined for their utility in predicting drug likeness and binding affinities against therapeutically relevant targets. Beyond therapeutic applications, SA holds potential in agrochemical, industrial, and biotechnological domains, although issues related to extraction, standardization, formulation, and clinical deployment persist. By integrating traditional pharmacognostic insights with emerging technologies, this review outlines a comprehensive roadmap for advancing the diverse potential of steroidal alkaloids, while clearly defining current limitations and pointing toward future directions in lead discovery and translational development of steroidal alkaloids.