Pharmaceutical Biology 

About: Pharmaceutical Biology is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): DPPH & Context (language use). It has an ISSN identifier of 1388-0209. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 3848 publications have been published receiving 95182 citations.

Natural product drug discovery in the next millennium.

Abstract: Nature has been a source of medicinal agents for thousands of years, and an impressive number of modern drugs have been isolated from natural sources, many based on their use in traditional medicine. In the past century, however, an increasing role has been played by microorganisms in the production of antibiotics and other drugs for the treatment of some serious diseases. Advances in the description of the human genome, as well as the genomes of pathogenic microbes and parasites, is permitting the determination of the structures of many proteins associated with disease processes. With the development of new molecular targets based on these proteins, there is an increasing demand for novel molecular diversity for screening. Natural products will play a crucial role in meeting this demand through the continued investigation of world's biodiversity, much of which remains unexplored. With less than 1% of the microbial world currently known, advances in procedures for microbial cultivation and the extraction of nucleic acids from environmental samples from soil and marine habitats, will provide access to a vast untapped reservoir of genetic and metabolic diversity. The same holds true for nucleic acids isolated from symbiotic and endophytic microbes associated with terrestrial and marine macroorganisms. By use of combinatorial chemical and biosynthetic technology, novel natural product leads will be optimized on the basis of their biological activities to yield effective chemotherapeutic and other bioactive agents. The investigation of these resources requires multi-disciplinary, national, and international collaboration in the discovery and development process.

Cytotoxicity, antiviral and antimicrobial activities of alkaloids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids

Abstract: Objective: Some natural products consisting of the alkaloids yohimbine and vincamine (indole-type), scopolamine and atropine (tropane-type), colchicine (tropolone-type), allantoin (imidazolidine-type), trigonelline (pyridine-type) as well as octopamine, synephrine, and capsaicin (exocyclic amine-type); the flavonoid derivatives quercetin, apigenin, genistein, naringin, silymarin, and silibinin; and the phenolic acids namely gallic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and quinic acid, were tested for their in vitro antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal activities and cytotoxicity.Materials and methods: Antiviral activity of the compounds was tested against DNA virus herpes simplex type 1 and RNA virus parainfluenza (type-3). Cytotoxicity of the compounds was determined using Madin-Darby bovine kidney and Vero cell lines, and their cytopathogenic effects were expressed as maximum non-toxic concentration. Antibacterial activity was assayed against following bacteria and their isolated strains: Escherichi...

The genus Artemisia: a comprehensive review.

Abstract: Context: Medicinal plants are nature′s gift to human beings to make disease free healthy life, and play a vital role to preserve our health. They are believed to be much safer and proven elixir in the treatment of various ailments. The genus Artemisia (Astraceae) consists of about 500 species, occurring throughout the world. The present review comprises the ethnopharmacological, phytochemical and therapeutic potential of various species of Artemisia.Objective: The aim of this this review is to bring together most of the available scientific research conducted on the genus Artemisia, which is currently scattered across various publications. Through this review the authors hope to attract the attention of natural product researchers throughout the world to focus on the unexplored potential of Artemisia species.Methods: This review has been compiled using references from major databases such as Chemical Abstracts, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Abstracts, ScienceDirect, SciFinder, PubMed, King′s American Disp...

Ethnobotanical Approaches of Traditional Medicine Studies: Some Experiences From Asia

Abstract: Ethnobotany, as a research field of science, has been widely used for the documentation of indigenous knowledge on the use of plants and for providing an inventory of useful plants from local flora in Asian countries. Plants that are used for traditional herbal medicine in different countries are an important part of these studies. However, in some countries in recent years, ethnobotanical studies have been used for the discovery of new drugs and new drug development. In general, experiences gained from ethnobotanical approaches of traditional medicinal studies in China and Himalayan countries have helped drug production and new drug development. At the same time, in many cases, over-harvesting, degradation of medical plants, and loss of traditional medical knowledge in local communities are common problems in these resource areas. Issues of indigenous knowledge, intellectual property rights, and uncontrolled transboundary trade in medicinal plants occur frequently in the region. This paper discusses ethnobotanical approaches of traditional medicinal studies, in reference to experiences from China and Himalayan countries, with an emphasis on the conservation of traditional medical knowledge and medical plant resources.

A Convenient Microdilution Method for Screening Natural Products Against Bacteria and Fungi

Abstract: Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-susceptible and -resistant strains) are some of the most common pathogens of immunocompromised individuals. Since multi-drug resistance of these microorganisms is a major medical problem, we propose a convenient microdilution method for screening of natural products in a search for new antimicrobial agents that would be active against these organisms. To enable the screening process under standard laboratory conditions, Cr. albidus and M. smegmatis were used as model-organisms in place of their pathogenic counterparts. Antibiotics were used as positive controls, and their MIC values were in agreement with the MIC ranges recommended by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Organic plant extracts from Lemna minor and Ilex cornuta were used for developing the microdilution assay. The method can be used as a reliable tool for discovering antimicrobial agents with novel chemistry. It is adopted for organic extracts at a microgram scale and is currently being used for screens of more than one thousand extracts from the National Cancer Institute Open Repository.