Pharmacognosy News and Research

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Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines or crude drugs produced from natural sources such as plants, microbes, and animals. It includes analysis of their biological, chemical, biochemical, and physical properties.

Researchers develop antibody drugs from tobacco plants for cancer treatment

For the first time in Thailand, lecturers at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences have successfully developed antibody from tobacco plants with inhibitory effects on the growth of cancer cells in laboratory animals.

9 Aug 2023

Marburg outbreak in Ghana causes African countries to stay alert

Africa must ramp up its surveillance and detection infrastructure in the light of an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Ghana, public health leaders have warned.

23 Aug 2022

Study unveils several natural marine products as potential agents against SARS-CoV-2

A recent study, published in the Journal of Natural Products of the American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy, highlighted three natural marine products as potent inhibitors of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – without any apparent toxic effects for human lung cells.

21 Mar 2022

Researchers use an integrated approach to reveal constituents in a multi-herb Chinese medicine

Rooted in ancient knowledge and principles, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used to treat many diseases, sparking the interest of pharmaceutical researchers. TCM formulas are quite complex, requiring multiple herbs for their formulation.

18 Feb 2022

Cannabinoids may prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2, including variants

A new study published in the Journal of Natural Products of the American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy has shown that isolated cannabinoids or those in hemp extracts have the potential to prevent and treat the infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) – primarily by blocking viral cell entry.

13 Jan 2022

Novel PF74 molecule effectively targets HIV capsid protein

Of all known small molecules targeting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) capsid protein (CA), PF74 represents by far the best characterized chemotype, due to its ability to confer antiviral phenotypes in both early and late phases of viral replication.

9 Apr 2021

Novel diarylamides show promise as orally active diuretics to treat hyponatremia

Urea transporters (UT) play a vital role in the mechanism of urine concentration and are recognized as novel targets for the development of salt-sparing diuretics. Thus, UT inhibitors are promising for development as novel diuretics.

8 Apr 2021

Research offers an efficient approach to mine the chemical diversity of endophytic fungi

Endophytic fungi are promising producers of bioactive small molecules. Bioinformatic analysis of the genome of an endophytic fungus Penicillium dangeardii revealed 43 biosynthetic gene clusters, exhibited its strong ability to produce numbers of secondary metabolites.

8 Apr 2021

Acrylamide-based novel DHODH inhibitors as potential treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

Human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a viable target for the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and immunological diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriasis and multiple sclerosis (MS).

8 Apr 2021

Acrylamide-based DHODH inhibitors are potential agents for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Human dihydroorotate dehydrogenase(DHODH) is a viable target for the development of therapeutics to treat cancer andimmunological diseases, such asrheumatoid arthritis(RA), psoriasis andmultiple sclerosis(MS).

8 Apr 2021

Pomegranate peel extract shows potential as inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Researchers led by first author Relja Suručić from the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, have studied the use of pomegranate peel extracts in preventing infections with SARS-CoV-2.

22 Nov 2020

Lianhuaqingwen capsule is effective for treating COVID-19 pneumonia

Lianhuaqingwen (LHQW) capsule, a herb medicine product, has been clinically proved to be effective in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia treatment. However, human exposure to LHQW components and their pharmacological effects remain largely unknown.

28 Oct 2020

Important structures of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro protease

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is changing the world like never before. This crisis is unlikely contained in the absence of effective therapeutics or vaccine.

27 Oct 2020

Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein RNA binding domain could guide design of antiviral agents

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to cause human infection and mortality worldwide. Currently, there are no specific viral protein-targeted therapeutics available.

20 Oct 2020

Researchers develop a molecular docking based webserver to predict drug targets

A highly effective drug therapy is urgently required to combat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The authors of this article have developed a molecular docking based webserver, namely D3Targets-2019-nCoV, with two functions, one is for predicting drug targets for drugs or active compounds observed from clinic or in vitro/in vivo studies, the other is for identifying lead compounds against potential drug targets via docking.

20 Oct 2020

A special issue on the emerging COVID-19 infection

Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B publishes special issue on 'Research on Emerging COVID-19 (Target, Mechanism, and Therapeutics)' edited by Hai-Bin Luo, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China; Shilin Chen, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing, China and Peiqing Liu, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.

29 Sep 2020

New bio-active natural products with huge potential as drugs

Natural compounds continue to play a key role in drug development. Many clinically approved drugs are either unmodified natural products or their semi-synthetic derivatives.

8 Sep 2020

New breast cancer drug is safe and effective, can halt disease progression

A new type of breast cancer drug developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago can help halt progression of disease and is not toxic, according to phase 1 clinical trials. The drug is specifically designed for women whose cancer has stopped responding to hormone therapy.

28 Aug 2020

Researchers identify anticoagulation agent that suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome, hypercoagulability, hypertension, and multiorgan dysfunction.

27 Jul 2020

Giant Madeiran squill likely to have accumulated antibiotics from contaminated soil

A previous study has shown that a type of squill growing in Madeira produces a chemical compound that may be useful as a medicinal drug.

5 Apr 2020

Pharmacognosy News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers develop antibody drugs from tobacco plants for cancer treatment

Marburg outbreak in Ghana causes African countries to stay alert

Study unveils several natural marine products as potential agents against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers use an integrated approach to reveal constituents in a multi-herb Chinese medicine

Cannabinoids may prevent infection with SARS-CoV-2, including variants

Novel PF74 molecule effectively targets HIV capsid protein

Novel diarylamides show promise as orally active diuretics to treat hyponatremia

Research offers an efficient approach to mine the chemical diversity of endophytic fungi

Acrylamide-based novel DHODH inhibitors as potential treatment for rheumatoid arthritis

Acrylamide-based DHODH inhibitors are potential agents for treating rheumatoid arthritis

Pomegranate peel extract shows potential as inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Lianhuaqingwen capsule is effective for treating COVID-19 pneumonia

Important structures of SARS-CoV-2 PLpro protease

Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein RNA binding domain could guide design of antiviral agents

Researchers develop a molecular docking based webserver to predict drug targets

A special issue on the emerging COVID-19 infection

New bio-active natural products with huge potential as drugs

New breast cancer drug is safe and effective, can halt disease progression

Researchers identify anticoagulation agent that suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro

Giant Madeiran squill likely to have accumulated antibiotics from contaminated soil

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