Yu De-quan
Institute of Materia Medica, CAMS, PUMC, Beijing 100050, China.
Zhongguo Yi Xue Ke Xue Yuan Xue Bao. 2002 Aug;24(4):335-8.
This paper concisely describes the prospect in developing new drugs from Chinese herbal medicine. The search for bioactive constituents or leading compounds from natural sources especially from Chinese herbal medicine will be proved to be one of the most effective ways by changing the traditional concept of study on natural drugs using modern ideas. It is well known that plants in China provide a fertile source of natural compounds dealt with biological and structural diversity, which is the best channel to discover bioactive and leading compounds. Many instances have showed that structural transformation and analogues synthesis of known natural compounds or drugs can provide an important way to find new leading compounds. Study of the bioactive principle of Chinese herbal medicine involves an integration of chemical study and bioassay with intensive screening. It should be emphasized that the investigation of bioactive compounds for creating new drugs is the major task of Chinese pharmaceutical industry.
本文简要描述了从中药开发新药的前景。利用现代理念改变传统天然药物研究观念，从天然来源尤其是中药中寻找生物活性成分或先导化合物将被证明是最有效的方法之一。众所周知，中国的植物提供了丰富的具有生物和结构多样性的天然化合物来源，这是发现生物活性和先导化合物的最佳途径。许多实例表明，已知天然化合物或药物的结构改造和类似物合成可为寻找新的先导化合物提供重要途径。中药生物活性原理的研究涉及化学研究与生物测定的结合以及深入筛选。应该强调的是，研究生物活性化合物以创制新药是中国制药行业的主要任务。
