Natural Products model

Y. Komoda and T. Kishi, in J. M. Cassady andJ. D. Douros, eds.. Anticancer Agents Based on Natural Products Models, Academic Press, New York, 1980, Chapt. 10. 

Methods by which to find a biologically active compound may be classified as (a) random selection/screening (b) directed synthesis (c) natural product models and (d) biorational design. Allelochemical research can be considered as a natural product model. Generally, natural pesticides such as allelochemicals can be the biological compound(s) itself or products or parts of plant tissues. 

In the anticancer area, the use of natural products as direct agents or as novel lead compounds for the generation of synthetic or semisynthetic analogs has proved remarkably productive, and a recent survey showed that 62% of new anticancer agents over the last 10 years have been natural products or agents based on natural product models.7 Examples of clinically important plant-derived natural products are the vinca alkaloids vinblastine (4) and vincristine (5), the podophyllotoxin analogs etoposide (6) and teniposide (7), the diterpenoid paclitaxel (Taxol ) (8), and the camptothedn-derivative topotecan (9). 

Marine Namral Products, Chemical Diversity of Chemical Diversity of Natural Products in Plants Pharmaceuticals Natural Products and Natural Product Models Natural Products as Anticancer Agents Chemical Ecology An Overview... 

Pharmaceuticals, Natural Products and Natural Product Models of Polyketides as Drugs Polyketide Biosynthesis... 

Pharmaceuticals Natural Products and Natural Product Models... 

Arcamone F (ed) (1980) Anticancer agents based on natural product models. Academic... 

J.M. Cassady and M. Suffness, in J.M. Cassady and J.D. Douros (Eds), "Anticancer Agents Based on Natural Product Models," Academic Press,... 

F. Matsumura There are certainly other such examples. One that comes to mind is the carbamate insecticides which came originally from a natural product model. Although I think it is true that every 10 or 20 years someone will discover a completely new structure with a new mode of action such as Merck has done with the avermectins, there may come a time when we run out of really good models for synthesis. Then we may want to come back to some of the older but proven targets such as GABA receptors for the design of new insecticides. 

Olomucine (46), originally isolated from the cotyledons of radish (Raphanus sativus L.A.) provided the natural product model for the synthetic agent roscovitine (47). Olomucine (46) inhibits cyclin-dependent kinases, proteins that play a major role in cell cycle progression. R-Roscovitine is currently in Phase II clinical trials... 

M. Suffness J. Douros. Miscellaneous Natural Products with Antitumor Activity. In Anticancer Agents Based on Natural Product Models, J. M. Cassady, J. D. Douros, Eds. Academic Press New York, 1980 pp 465-487. 

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