Natural products in drug discovery: advances and effective strategies

Natural products are growing popular all over the world. They are widely regarded as standard clinical therapy compared to the currently available therapeutic options, as traditional medicines enter a worldwide new arena in clinical medicine and pharmaceutical research. Several studies have been conducted on herbs, which play an essential role in health promotion and the prevention, management, & treatment of numerous diseases due to their effectiveness, convenience, fewer side effects, and low cost.

When compared to other traditional or alternative medical systems, natural products are the most represented kind of conventional therapy. They contain many active components, either primary or secondary metabolites, that are connected with the diverse, intricate, and distinct properties of natural products and result in various pharmacological actions in the clinic.

Traditional medicine quality: the foundation of pharmaceutical safety and efficacy

The efficacy and safety of pharmaceuticals in clinical usage are ensured by the quality of traditional medicines, which is affected by numerous aspects such as variety, cultivation, processing, transportation, and storage monitoring. If the quality of the herbal medication is not certified, for example, if the active ingredient does not satisfy the standards or contains toxic components, the clinical therapeutic impact and adverse reaction events generated by the natural drug will be affected. Authenticity, benefits, and drawbacks are essential in therapeutic efficacy; some can jeopardise people's lives. Planting procedures result in inadequate germplasm, variety degradation, and other challenges due to a lack of standardised management and technical guidance.

Q-markers: a novel approach to quality control

A Q-marker, a new promising concept in quality control developed by Liu, consists of chemical substances derived from herbal medicine and items such as tablets, decoctions, and derivatives. These are closely related to the functional properties of traditional medicines and are inherent or formed during the preparation process as quality control markers of safety and effectiveness. It should also be highlighted that they are not chemical substances absorbed by chemical processes and generated in vivo, such as metabolites, digestive enzymes, or microbial-transformed chemicals; thus, their chemical structures must be determined, as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Modern chemical component identification technology

Modern science, advanced equipment, and technology have significantly improved conventional methods for identifying chemical components, such as microscopic and physical or chemical identification. Chemical component research and Q-marker determination require proper research procedures. Paper chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, gas chromatography (GC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are extensively used in chromatography analysis to identify traditional medicines.

Herbal Q-markers: New Trends and Effective Strategies

Based on composition traceability and quality transfer

Herb chemical composition influences illness therapy via processes such as synthesis in organisms, extraction and purification, production, absorption, and metabolism in vivo. It is essential to consider the idea of quality transmission and traceability to establish the whole quality control system.

Chemicals and pharmacodynamics

To identify quality marker components to analyse herb quality, a correlation analysis was developed between chemical fingerprints and efficacy evaluation. Gastrodia Elata Tuber (GET), a well-known herbal medication, has long been utilised in Asia. For investigating the neuroprotective benefits of GET extracts, the study employs a rational strategy of fingerprint-efficacy relationship based on HPLC coupled with the QTOF-MS method and model of -amyloid peptide (A25-35)-induced PC12 cell death in vitro.

Chinmedomics

Chinmedomics, Professor Wang's new platform for the direct discovery and screening of highly correlated ingredients with the therapeutic effect of traditional medicines, is based on the combination of serum pharmacology and metabolomics for searching syndrome biomarkers, building drug efficacy evaluation systems and then determining efficacy material.

Effect-constituent index

Based on chemical analysis and bio-effect detection, some researchers suggest a complete evaluation index, the effect-constituent index (ECI), to enrich numerous efficacy-oriented quality control model studies of herbs. It focuses on herbs' effectiveness and active components. ECI combines the accuracy of chemical composition detection and the advantages of technological safety related to drug efficacy, which improves the quality evaluation of traditional medicines in terms of accessibility and universality and assesses the contribution of different components in the whole drug.

Many herbs still have a long way to go regarding Q-marker research. Still, it is predicted to make limitless progress with the support of rapidly growing science and technology to improve the quality control system of traditional medicines and promote the modernisation and development of medicine.

FAQs

What is a natural product in drug discovery?

It describes natural bioactive substances, their phytochemical examination, characterisation, and pharmacological study. It focuses on the success of these resources in identifying novel and effective human therapeutic molecules.

Why are natural products an integral approach to drug discovery?

Natural products are good sources of novel medications and lead compounds for drug development. The various structures and complicated carbon skeletons of natural products benefit drug discovery.