Wang Ming-Wei, Hao Xiaojiang, Chen Kaixian
The National Centre for Drug Screening, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2007 Jun 29;362(1482):1093-105. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2036.
Natural products have been applied to human healthcare for thousands of years. Drug discovery in ancient times was largely by chance and based on clinical practices. As understanding of therapeutic benefits deepens and demands for natural products increase, previously serendipitous discoveries evolve into active searches for new medicines. Many drugs presently prescribed by physicians are either directly isolated from plants or are artificially modified versions of natural products. Scientists are looking for lead compounds with specific structures and pharmacological effects often from natural sources. Experiences and successes of Chinese scientists in this specialized area have resulted in a number of widely used drugs. The tremendous progress made in life sciences has not only revealed many pathological processes of diseases, but also led to the establishment of various molecular and cellular bioassays in conjunction with high-throughput technologies. This is advantageous and permits certain natural compounds that are difficult to isolate and purify, and compounds that are difficult to synthesize, to be assayed. The transition from traditional to empirical and to molecular screening will certainly increase the probability of discovering new leads and drug candidates from natural products.
天然产物应用于人类医疗保健已有数千年历史。古代的药物发现很大程度上是偶然的，且基于临床实践。随着对治疗益处的理解不断深入以及对天然产物的需求增加，以前偶然的发现逐渐演变为对新药的积极探索。目前医生开具的许多药物要么直接从植物中分离出来，要么是天然产物的人工改性版本。科学家们常常从天然来源寻找具有特定结构和药理作用的先导化合物。中国科学家在这一专业领域的经验和成功促成了许多广泛使用的药物。生命科学取得的巨大进展不仅揭示了许多疾病的病理过程，还导致了结合高通量技术建立各种分子和细胞生物测定法。这具有优势，使得某些难以分离和纯化的天然化合物以及难以合成的化合物能够得到测定。从传统筛选到经验性筛选再到分子筛选的转变肯定会增加从天然产物中发现新先导化合物和候选药物的可能性。
