Small Fish Models for Molecular-Ethnopharmacology and Drug Discovery
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Medicinal Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 314
Special Issue Editor
Interests: zebrafish; pharmacology; obesity; cancer; natural product; chemical screening
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Small fish species such as Danio rerio (zebrafish), Oryzias latipes (medaka), and other emerging model fish have become powerful vertebrate systems bridging the gap between molecular pharmacology, toxicology, and ethnopharmacological discovery. Their small size, genetic accessibility, optical transparency, and physiological similarity to humans enable high-throughput in vivo screening and mechanistic validation of bioactive natural compounds, traditional medicines, and novel drug candidates.
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances and applications of small fish models in molecular ethnopharmacology and drug discovery. Topics of interest include—but are not limited to—bioassay-guided identification of active principles from traditional remedies, elucidation of signaling pathways underlying pharmacological effects, metabolomic profiling of compound action, and the development of biosensor or disease-model fish for in vivo functional screening. Integrative studies combining modern omics, imaging, behavioral assays, and computational approaches are particularly encouraged.
By collecting cutting-edge research and reviews at the intersection of ethnomedicine, natural product chemistry, and small-fish biotechnology, this Special Issue seeks to accelerate the translation of traditional knowledge into scientifically validated therapeutics and to contribute to sustainable drug discovery pipelines.
Dr. Yasuhito Shimada
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- bioactive compounds
- chemical biology
- natural product screening
- omics
- phytochemicals
- systems pharmacology
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