Advances in Natural Products from Plants and Associated Microbes

Dear Colleagues,

Plant natural products have proved effective in treating different health-related diseases that affect humans. Recent literature confirms that plant-derived natural products are still under-represented in some aspects, such as antibiotics, which are mainly covered by microbial natural products. Microbial natural products are also integral to human health in the form of medicines such as antibiotics, antifungals, immunosuppressants, and anticancer agents. However, the microbial natural products of diverse microbes remain largely under-investigated. In particular, endophytes, microorganisms that reside in the tissues of living plants, and marine-derived microbes are sources of novel natural products that could potentially be exploited in natural product chemistry. The use of computer-assisted drug discovery programs such as docking and molecular dynamics simulations has helped us to discover known plant and microbial metabolites with promising new biological activities which have been validated by in vitro or in vivo analyses. Moreover, nano-formulations of natural products have enhanced their delivery and improved their associated biological activity. This Topic mainly aims to focus on the targeted discovery of new or known plant and microbial bioactive metabolites through the use of biology-guided isolation, computer-aided programs, or nano-formulations with enhanced delivery and activity).

Dr. Ki Hyun Kim
Dr. Mostafa Rateb
Dr. Hossam Hassan
Topic Editors