Drug Discovery on Natural Products: From Ion Channels to nAChRs, from Nature to Libraries, from Analytics to Assays.

ABSTRACT: Natural extracts are complex mixtures that may be rich in useful bioactive compounds and therefore are attractive sources for new leads in drug discovery. This review describes drug discovery from natural products and in explaining this process puts the focus on ion-channel drug discovery. In particular, the identification of bioactives from natural products targeting nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and serotonin type 3 receptors (5-HT₃Rs) is discussed. The review is divided into three parts: "Targets," "Sources," and "Approaches." The "Targets" part will discuss the importance of ion-channel drug targets in general, and the α7-nAChR and 5-HT₃Rs in particular. The "Sources" part will discuss the relevance for drug discovery of finding bioactive compounds fr

SUBMITTER: Otvos RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6484542 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature