Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2007 Jun 29;362(1482):1093-105.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2036.

Biological screening of natural products and drug innovation in China

Ming-Wei Wang  1 , Xiaojiang Hao, Kaixian Chen
Affiliations
Review

Biological screening of natural products and drug innovation in China

Ming-Wei Wang et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Natural products have been applied to human healthcare for thousands of years. Drug discovery in ancient times was largely by chance and based on clinical practices. As understanding of therapeutic benefits deepens and demands for natural products increase, previously serendipitous discoveries evolve into active searches for new medicines. Many drugs presently prescribed by physicians are either directly isolated from plants or are artificially modified versions of natural products. Scientists are looking for lead compounds with specific structures and pharmacological effects often from natural sources. Experiences and successes of Chinese scientists in this specialized area have resulted in a number of widely used drugs. The tremendous progress made in life sciences has not only revealed many pathological processes of diseases, but also led to the establishment of various molecular and cellular bioassays in conjunction with high-throughput technologies. This is advantageous and permits certain natural compounds that are difficult to isolate and purify, and compounds that are difficult to synthesize, to be assayed. The transition from traditional to empirical and to molecular screening will certainly increase the probability of discovering new leads and drug candidates from natural products.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Artemisinin (I) and its in vivo metabolites. a, Endoperoxide bridge.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Synthetic route of gastrodin.
Structure II
Structure II
Structure III
Structure III
Structure IV
Structure IV
Structure V
Structure V
Structure VI
Structure VI
Structure VII
Structure VII
Structure VIII
Structure VIII
Structures IX–XIII
Structures IX–XIII
Structure XIV
Structure XIV
Structure XV
Structure XV
Structure XVI
Structure XVI
Structure XVII
Structure XVII
Structure XVIII
Structure XVIII
Structure XIX
Structure XIX
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. A J.Y, Wang G.J, Liu X.Q, Jiang D.Y, Liu J.H. Study on the metabolite of guanfu base A hydrochloride in rat urine by high performance liquid chromatograph–mass spectrum. Acta Pharmacol. Sin. 2002;37:283–287. - PubMed
    1. A J.Y, Wang G.J, Sun J.G, Gu Y.C, Wu M.S, Liu J.H. Identification of phase I and phase II metabolites of guanfu base A hydrochloride in human urine. Eur. J. Drug Metab. Pharmacokinet. 2003;28:265–272. - PubMed
    1. Birdsall T.C, Kelly G.S. Berberine: therapeutic potential of an alkaloid found in several medicinal plants. Altern. Med. Rev. 1997;2:94–103.
    1. Braquet P.G. Bn-52021 and related compounds: a new series of highly specific PAF-acether receptor antagonists. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 1985;7:384. doi:10.1016/0192-0561(85)90411-4 - DOI
    1. Brossi A, Venugopalan B, Gerpe L.D, Yeh H.J.C, Flippen-Anderson J.L, Buchs P, Luo X.D, Milhous W, Peters W. Arteether, a new antimalarial drug: synthesis and antimalarial properties. J. Med. Chem. 1988;31:645–650. doi:10.1021/jm00398a026 - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms

Substances