From ethnopharmacology to drug design.

ABSTRACT: Nature's diversity is one of the biggest resources of therapeutic lead compounds. Traditionally-used herbal remedies harbor a variety of bioactive compounds providing researchers with starting points for drug development. Ethnopharmacological investigations of uterotonic plant preparations identified a class of circular and disulfide-rich peptides, called cyclotides, to exhibit strong uterine contractions. In humans one of the physiological regulators of the myometrial contractility is the nonapeptide oxytocin acting on its cognate G protein-coupled receptors. They are considered to represent one of the most promising drug targets with ~30% of all currently marketed drugs acting on these transmembrane receptors. Based on observed similarities regarding the activity and structure of plant c

SUBMITTER: Koehbach J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3925455 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature