Natural products have contributed to the development of many drugs for diverse indications. While most U.S. pharmaceutical companies have reduced or eliminated their in-house natural product groups, new paradigms and new enterprises have evolved to carry on a role for natural products in the pharmaceutical industry. Many of the reasons for the decline in popularity of natural products are being addressed by the development of new techniques for screening and production. This overview aims to inform pharmacologists of current strategies and techniques that make natural products a viable strategic choice for inclusion in drug discovery programs.

/pdf/natural-products-as-a-foundation-for-drug-discovery-52zi1ofhbe.pdf

Natural Products as a Foundation for Drug Discovery

Purpose: To analyse the historical development of morphine for postoperative analgesia and how this development was shaped by the evolution of anesthetic techniques.

/pdf/in-the-arms-of-morpheus-the-development-of-morphine-for-2scus3ctnd.pdf

In the arms of Morpheus : the development of morphine for postoperative pain relief

All organisms produce specialized organic molecules, ranging from small volatile chemicals to large gene-encoded peptides, that have evolved to provide them with diverse cellular and ecological functions. As natural products, they are broadly applied in medicine, agriculture and nutrition. The rapid accumulation of genomic information has revealed that the metabolic capacity of virtually all organisms is vastly underappreciated. Pioneered mainly in bacteria and fungi, genome mining technologies are accelerating metabolite discovery. Recent efforts are now being expanded to all life forms, including protists, plants and animals, and new integrative omics technologies are enabling the increasingly effective mining of this molecular diversity.

Mining genomes to illuminate the specialized chemistry of life

https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/49169/Khazir_Natural_2013.pdf?sequence=1

Natural products as lead compounds in drug discovery

Conceptual Change in an Empirical Science: The Discovery of the First Alkaloids

Describes the life and accomplishments of Friedrich Wilhelm Serturner, the discoverer of morphine.

Georg Lockermann

Papers

Friedrich Wilhelm Serturner, the discoverer of morphine

The centenary of the Bunsen burner

Bunsen's transfer from Cassel to Marburg