Biological Activities of Natural Products, Antipsychotics, and Their Derivatives

Dear Colleagues,

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2018, cancer is the second leading cause of death around the world. Global statistics have shown that the total annual economic cost related to cancer rose to US 1.16 trillion in 2010.

The next major problem is viral infections: to date, antiviral drugs are used only for treating less than 10 viral infections. Unfortunately, there are still no drugs that are effective enough against some pathogenic viruses, for example, Zika (ZIKV), Ebola (EBOV), or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The WHO confirmed that 339,000, 2,058,227, and 13,600–20,400 deaths occur globally last year due to hepatitis C virus, COVID-19, and Japanese encephalitis virus, respectively.

On 29 April 2019, the WHO published a report demanding immediate, coordinated, and ambitious action to avert a potentially disastrous drug-resistance crisis. They estimated that about 10 million deaths will occur each year by 2050 due to drug-resistant diseases, while by 2030, antimicrobial resistance could force up to 24 million people into extreme poverty. The WHO and Eurostat statistics for 2016, as well as the European Heart Network data for 2017, report the global increase in deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases (coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism). Notably, in some cases, the global death percentage is higher than the number of deaths caused by malignant neoplasm cancer (26.0%).

Thus, new and more effective methods of treating cancer; viral, fungal, and bacterial infections; as well as cardiovascular and many other diseases are needed. Drug repurposing/repositioning is an alternative approach to developing new agents. The main idea is to use existing drugs for new therapeutic purposes. Another option is using natural products.

Phenothiazine derivatives (chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, perphenazine, prochlorperazine, and thioridazine) possess novel antitumor activity, which has been confirmed by several research groups, toward different types of cancer not only in vitro but also in vivo. They have also shown antiviral and antibacterial activities. Polyphenols present in natural products, such as propolis, honey, pollen, bee bread, and wax used in apitherapy, possess anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, and chemopreventive activities.

This Special Issue is focused on discussing the future roles of antipsychotic drugs including phenothiazines and their derivatives in cancer, viral, bacterial, and or fungal treatment. We want to discuss the biological activity of natural products, e.g., bee products and others in the treatment of cancer; bacteria, fungal, and viral infections and diseases; and cardiovascular diseases, amongst many other. In this field, in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to determine the precise molecular mechanisms and concentrations required to produce those effects. Research on antipsychotics, phenothiazines (chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, perphenazine, prochlorperazine, and thioridazine) and their new derivatives as well as natural products, including research on mixtures with other drugs or compounds, are welcome.  The comparison of in vitro results with normal human cell lines and/or in vivo studies are also within the scope of this issue; review papers are welcome. The goal of this Special Issue is to shed light on the molecular mechanisms of the biological activities of antipsychotics, phenothiazines and their derivatives, and natural products, and possible strategies to interfere with these processes.

Dr. Michał Otręba
Dr. Leon Kosmider
Dr. Anna Kleczka
Guest Editors

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