Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 21 October 2005:
Vol. 310. no. 5747, pp. 451 - 453
DOI: 10.1126/science.1116364
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Perspectives

CHEMISTRY:
The Renaissance of Natural Products as Drug Candidates

Ian Paterson and Edward A. Anderson

In recent years, the use of natural products for drug discovery has declined in favor of combinatorial methods and the rapid generation of large libraries of potential lead compounds. In their Perspective, Paterson and Anderson suggest that it may be time to revisit the prevailing dogma and consider ways in which natural products could continue to inspire the development of new drugs. Natural products offer high potency and selectivity as a result of long evolutionary selection. Taking bioactive natural substances as a starting point, researchers can then use the methods of organic synthesis to design targeted modifications of specific structures to create new therapeutic agents.
The authors are in the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK. E-mail: ip100{at}cam.ac.uk

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Tubulin-Interactive Natural Products as Anticancer Agents.
D. G I Kingston (2008)
Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. Educ. Book 2008, 305-313
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Epigallocatechin Gallate Inactivates Clinical Isolates of Herpes Simplex Virus.
C. E. Isaacs, G. Y. Wen, W. Xu, J. H. Jia, L. Rohan, C. Corbo, V. Di Maggio, E. C. Jenkins Jr., and S. Hillier (2008)
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 52, 962-970
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Use of a Recombinant Fluorescent Substrate with Cleavage Sites for All Botulinum Neurotoxins in High-Throughput Screening of Natural Product Extracts for Inhibitors of Serotypes A, B, and E.
H. B. Hines, A. D. Kim, R. G. Stafford, S. S. Badie, E. E. Brueggeman, D. J. Newman, and J. J. Schmidt (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 653-659
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Engineering of Artificial Plant Cytochrome P450 Enzymes for Synthesis of Isoflavones by Escherichia coli.
E. Leonard and M. A. G. Koffas (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 7246-7251
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Novel semisynthetic analogues of betulinic acid with diverse cytoprotective, antiproliferative, and proapoptotic activities.
K. Liby, T. Honda, C. R. Williams, R. Risingsong, D. B. Royce, N. Suh, A. T. Dinkova-Kostova, K. K. Stephenson, P. Talalay, C. Sundararajan, et al. (2007)
Mol. Cancer Ther. 6, 2113-2119
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Engineering Central Metabolic Pathways for High-Level Flavonoid Production in Escherichia coli.
E. Leonard, K.-H. Lim, P.-N. Saw, and M. A. G. Koffas (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 3877-3886
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Chemically engineered extracts as an alternative source of bioactive natural product-like compounds.
S. N. Lopez, I. A. Ramallo, M. G. Sierra, S. A. Zacchino, and R. L. E. Furlan (2007)
PNAS 104, 441-444
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Eupalmerin acetate, a novel anticancer agent from Caribbean gorgonian octocorals, induces apoptosis in malignant glioma cells via the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase pathway.
A. Iwamaru, E. Iwado, S. Kondo, R. A. Newman, B. Vera, A. D. Rodriguez, and Y. Kondo (2007)
Mol. Cancer Ther. 6, 184-192
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »

E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

Some reasons for under-explorartion of natural resources
Shoaib Ahmad
Science Online, 20 Jan 2006 [Full text]

To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)