Recent Advances in Natural Products for Antiviral Drug Discovery
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Pharmacology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 2
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Viral infections continue to represent as major global public health concern due to the constant emergence of new viral pathogens and increasing incidence of drug resistance. Despite advances in antiviral drug development through synthetic libraries, in silico discovery, and computational design, the structural enrichment of natural products continues to provide exceptional mechanisms of action and unique scaffolds characterized by high biological activity. Natural products derived from plants, microorganisms, marine organisms, and agri-food resources have proven significant antiviral potential and continue to inspire modern drug discovery efforts. AI-assistants in isolation techniques, structural elucidation, and biological evaluation have further strengthened the role of natural products in antiviral research.
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in the discovery, characterization, development, and molecular mechanisms of natural products with antiviral activity. As viral infections continue to pose major global health challenges, natural products are valuable sources of structurally diverse and biologically promising antiviral agents.
We welcome original research articles, reviews, and short communications on antiviral metabolites derived from plants, marine organisms, microorganisms, and food-based sources. Studies that provide molecular mechanistic insights, structural elucidation, biological evaluation, structure–activity relationships, and translational potential are encouraged, as well as studies using omics-based strategies, molecular modelling, or AI-assisted screening to accelerate antiviral discovery.
Dr. Thao Quyen Cao
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- bioactive natural compound
- secondary metabolites
- antiviral activity
- molecular mechanisms
- metabolomic-guided discovery
- natural antivirals
- food-derived bioactivity
- AI-assisted prediction of antiviral natural products
- microbe-derived antiviral metabolites
- marine-derived antiviral metabolites
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