Seabrooks Lauren, Hu Longqin
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
Acta Pharm Sin B. 2017 Jul;7(4):409-426. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2017.05.001. Epub 2017 May 30.
Nature has been the source of life-changing and -saving medications for centuries. Aspirin, penicillin and morphine are prime examples of Nature׳s gifts to medicine. These discoveries catalyzed the field of natural product drug discovery which has mostly focused on plants. However, insects have more than twice the number of species and entomotherapy has been in practice for as long as and often in conjunction with medicinal plants and is an important alternative to modern medicine in many parts of the world. Herein, an overview of current traditional medicinal applications of insects and characterization of isolated biologically active molecules starting from approximately 2010 is presented. Insect natural products reviewed were isolated from ants, bees, wasps, beetles, cockroaches, termites, flies, true bugs, moths and more. Biological activities of these natural products from insects include antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
几个世纪以来，大自然一直是改变生活和拯救生命药物的来源。阿司匹林、青霉素和吗啡是大自然馈赠给医学的典型例子。这些发现推动了天然产物药物发现领域的发展，该领域主要聚焦于植物。然而，昆虫的物种数量是植物的两倍多，昆虫疗法的应用历史与药用植物一样悠久，并且常常与药用植物结合使用，在世界许多地区，它是现代医学的重要替代方法。本文概述了昆虫当前的传统药用应用，并介绍了自2010年左右开始对分离出的生物活性分子的特性描述。所综述的昆虫天然产物是从蚂蚁、蜜蜂、黄蜂、甲虫、蟑螂、白蚁、苍蝇、椿象、飞蛾等昆虫中分离出来的。这些昆虫天然产物的生物活性包括抗菌、抗真菌、抗病毒、抗癌、抗氧化、抗炎和免疫调节作用。
