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Review
. 2018 May 4:17:420-451.
doi: 10.17179/excli2018-1174. eCollection 2018.

Natural products as reservoirs of novel therapeutic agents

Sadaf Mushtaq  1 , Bilal Haider Abbasi  1   2 , Bushra Uzair  3 , Rashda Abbasi  4
Affiliations
Review

Natural products as reservoirs of novel therapeutic agents

Sadaf Mushtaq et al. EXCLI J. .

Abstract

Since ancient times, natural products from plants, animals, microbial and marine sources have been exploited for treatment of several diseases. The knowledge of our ancestors is the base of modern drug discovery process. However, due to the presence of extensive biodiversity in natural sources, the percentage of secondary metabolites screened for bioactivity is low. This review aims to provide a brief overview of historically significant natural therapeutic agents along with some current potential drug candidates. It will also provide an insight into pros and cons of natural product discovery and how development of recent approaches has answered the challenges associated with it.

Keywords: animals; bioactive; marine organisms; microbes; plants; secondary metabolites.

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Figures

Table 1
Table 1. Important plant-based bioactive entities
Table 2
Table 2. Important anticancer medicinal plants
Table 3
Table 3. Bacterial toxins and immunotoxins, their sources, targets and mode of action
Figure 1
Figure 1. Classes of natural drugs under clinical trials and their sources (Brahmachari, 2012)
Figure 2
Figure 2. Historically significant plant-derived drugs (Source: National Centre for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 2a-2h = 5288826, 6005, 2244, 441207, 3034034, 1548994, 68827 and 5910)
Figure 3
Figure 3. Plant-derived anticancer drugs (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 3a-3i = 5978, 36462, 36314, 65366, 60838, 60700, 13422573, 5287969 and 285033)
Figure 4
Figure 4. Significant drugs derived from animals (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 4a-4b = 44093 and 3073763)
Figure 5
Figure 5. Important marine-derived drugs (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 5a-5c = 9812534, 108150 and 16135415)
Figure 6
Figure 6. Important drugs derived from marine sponges (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 6a-6c = 18323, 65049 and 643668)
Figure 7
Figure 7. Important bioactive entities derived from marine algae (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 7a-7d = 6443354, 365667, 5280489 and 23736)
Figure 8
Figure 8. Natural products derived from marine bacteria (Source 8a: Ahmed et al., 2008; National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 8b-8e = 6711682, 11347535, 46216699 and 446284)
Figure 9
Figure 9. Natural bioactive compounds derived from fungi (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 9a-9j = 5904, 14969, 53232, 25102, 9978464, 15382209, 101697132, 54686464, 3002143 and 5351516)
Figure 10
Figure 10. Natural bioactive compounds derived from bacteria (Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, PubChem Compound Database: CIDs from 10a-10d = 2019, 16219761, 5284616 and 114897)
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References

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