"The most fruitful basis of the discovery of a new drug is to start with an old drug" is a quote provided by the Nobel Laureate, and renowned pharmacologist James Black who endorsed that drug repurposing is very much a viable strategy for successful drug discovery and development. Drug repositioning or repurposing is an approach that can be used to accelerate the drug discovery process by identifying a novel clinical use for an existing drug already approved to treat or prevent a disease or condition. For example, aspirin being commonly used as an anti-inflammatory medication has been extensively repurposed over the years, especially in cardiovascular diseases. While the concept of finding new indications for an drug already in use is gaining momentum worldwide, the potential involving bioactive natural products still needs to be further explored.
The conventional drug discovery and development process has been sucessful in discovering a great deal of life-saving drugs for many diseases and conditions. However, the significant bottleneck often encountered is that a successful drug approval and market authorization is not always possible. This scenario creates a barrier when it comes to various health concerns on the rise and so selective novel strategies must be investigated further.
The concepts behind polypharmacology could be interpreted as the underlying mechanisms by which drug repurposing approaches work. Nonetheless, there is a paradigm shift in drug discovery from single to multitarget effects or synergisms. Therefore, it is imperative to discuss and better understand the implications of repurposing approaches using mono or poly-phytotherapeutics. Furthermore, it would be intriguing to explore the integration of bioactive natural product repurposing strategies with more traditional and complementary medicine systems. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to assemble all evidence (both preclinical and clinical) focusing on repurposing strategies involving active natural products and their integration with traditional medicinal practices.
This Research Topic welcomes Original Research (preclinical/clinical), Review (scoping/systematic), Data Reports, and General Commentary articles that sufficiently address the repurposing of bioactive natural products and their integration with the clinical practices of traditional/complementary systems of medicine. Authors are invited to discuss the following themes, including but not limited to:
• Studies (preclinical and clinical) providing critical appraisal on the benefit and risk assessment of repurposing of bioactive natural products.
• How do bioactive natural product repurposing approaches consider and integrate ethnopharmacological knowledge?
• Advantages and challenges of distinct repurposing approaches when selecting and using bioactive natural products to treat human ailments.
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All the manuscripts submitted to the collection will need to fully comply with the
Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version
here).
"The most fruitful basis of the discovery of a new drug is to start with an old drug" is a quote provided by the Nobel Laureate, and renowned pharmacologist James Black who endorsed that drug repurposing is very much a viable strategy for successful drug discovery and development. Drug repositioning or repurposing is an approach that can be used to accelerate the drug discovery process by identifying a novel clinical use for an existing drug already approved to treat or prevent a disease or condition. For example, aspirin being commonly used as an anti-inflammatory medication has been extensively repurposed over the years, especially in cardiovascular diseases. While the concept of finding new indications for an drug already in use is gaining momentum worldwide, the potential involving bioactive natural products still needs to be further explored.
The conventional drug discovery and development process has been sucessful in discovering a great deal of life-saving drugs for many diseases and conditions. However, the significant bottleneck often encountered is that a successful drug approval and market authorization is not always possible. This scenario creates a barrier when it comes to various health concerns on the rise and so selective novel strategies must be investigated further.
The concepts behind polypharmacology could be interpreted as the underlying mechanisms by which drug repurposing approaches work. Nonetheless, there is a paradigm shift in drug discovery from single to multitarget effects or synergisms. Therefore, it is imperative to discuss and better understand the implications of repurposing approaches using mono or poly-phytotherapeutics. Furthermore, it would be intriguing to explore the integration of bioactive natural product repurposing strategies with more traditional and complementary medicine systems. Therefore, this Research Topic aims to assemble all evidence (both preclinical and clinical) focusing on repurposing strategies involving active natural products and their integration with traditional medicinal practices.
This Research Topic welcomes Original Research (preclinical/clinical), Review (scoping/systematic), Data Reports, and General Commentary articles that sufficiently address the repurposing of bioactive natural products and their integration with the clinical practices of traditional/complementary systems of medicine. Authors are invited to discuss the following themes, including but not limited to:
• Studies (preclinical and clinical) providing critical appraisal on the benefit and risk assessment of repurposing of bioactive natural products.
• How do bioactive natural product repurposing approaches consider and integrate ethnopharmacological knowledge?
• Advantages and challenges of distinct repurposing approaches when selecting and using bioactive natural products to treat human ailments.
-------
All the manuscripts submitted to the collection will need to fully comply with the
Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version
here).