Research Progress and Applications of Natural Products

Dear Colleagues,

Natural compounds play a crucial role in modern integrative medicine. A natural compound or natural product is a chemical compound or substance produced by a living organism and is thus found in nature. A fundamental property of this compound is that it can also be prepared by chemical synthesis.

Within medicinal chemistry, the area is often further restricted to secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites are not crucial for survival but offer organisms that produce them an evolutionary advantage. Some secondary metabolites are cytotoxic and have been selected and optimized through evolution for use as "chemical warfare" agents against prey, predators, and competing organisms.

Natural sources may lead to fundamental research on potential bioactive components for commercial development as lead-hit compounds in drug discovery. However, although natural products have inspired numerous drugs, drug design from natural sources is a laborious, time- and money-consuming process that has received declining attention in the 21st century by pharmaceutical companies.

This Special Issue addresses all bioactive natural compounds such as flavonoids, secondary metabolites like phenazine, polyketides, ribosomal peptides, non-ribosomal peptides, glucosides, and many others with medical applications or are currently used in practice.

Dr. Claudiu N. Lungu
Prof. Dr. Ionel Mangalagiu
Guest Editors

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