Cytotoxicity and Antiviral Activity of Natural Products
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 12381
Special Issue Editors
Interests: natural product biosynthesis; pathway engineering; enzyme structure and function
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Drugs from nature are the basis of traditional medical systems and have been used for centuries [1]. Today, nature continues to be an important source of bioactive molecules due to the enormous chemical diversity of plants, animals, marine organisms, and microorganisms. An immense number of these natural products show cytotoxic, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory activities, which makes them potential candidates for the treatment of serious diseases including cancer and viral infections [2, 3]. As a matter of fact, nature provides a great number of molecules showing cytotoxic activity towards a wide range of cancer cells and tumor entities. Some of these molecules are already used in therapy, whereas others have at least already shown great antitumoral and antimetastatic potential in preclinical trials. About one-third of FDA-approved drugs over the past 20 years are based on natural products or their derivatives, and many of those used in tumor therapy, such as taxanes, complex indole alkaloids, campthotecin, and semi-synthetic lignanes, are derived from plants [4,5]. Isolated compounds have unique targets, such as channels, receptors, and enzymes, but also may have multiple targets leading to complex reactions in cells, such as autophagy, apoptosis, and necrosis. Signal transduction can be inhibited, modulated, or redirected. All of these aspects constitute the pharmacological efficacy, plausibility, and suitability of nature’s molecules in therapy. This Special Issue intends to acknowledge and corroborate the important role of natural products in drug discovery for the treatment of cancer and viral infections. Insights into cancer or antiviral therapy using natural products or chemically modified derivatives thereof, in the form of original research articles or reviews, and in all areas of pathology, cytotoxic and antiviral activity, cell and animal models, and therapy using isolated compounds, are welcome.
[1] Cragg, G.M.; Newman, D.J. Natural products: A continuing source of novel drug leads. Bioch. Biophys. Acta (BBA) General Subj. 2013, 1830, 3670–3695.
[2] Tilaoui, M.; Mouse, H.A.; Jaafari, A.; Zyad, A. Comparative phytochemical analysis of essential oils from different biological parts of Artemisia herba alba and their cytotoxic effect on cancer cells. PLoS One 2015, 10, e0131799
[3] Oliveira, A.H.; de Oliveira, G.G.; Carnevale, N.F.; Portuondo, D.F.; Batista-Duharte, A.; Carlos, I.Z. Anti-inflammatory activity of Vismia guianensis (Aubl.) Pers. extracts and antifungal activity against Sporothrix schenckii. J. Ethnopharmacol. 2017, 195, 266–274
[4] Patridge, E.; Gareiss, P.; Kinch, M.S.; Hoyer, D. An analysis of FDA-approved drugs: Natural products and their derivatives. Drug Discov. Today 2016, 21, 204–207.
[5] Newman, D.J.; Cragg, G.M. Natural products as sources of new drugs over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010. J. Nat. Prod. 2012, 75, 311–335.
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Kreis
Dr. Jennifer Munkert
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- natural products
- cytotoxicity
- oncological targets
- signal transduction
- cancer therapy
- programmed cell death
- drug discovery
