Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products have been playing an important role and made a great contribution in new drug development, and the finding of the anti-malarial artemisinin by Chinese scientist TU Youyou is one of the famous successes in this field. The active substance basis and compositions of many traditional Chinese herbal medicines have been clarified, and a large number of active compounds and novel structures have been found by now. In times of science and technology with rapid revolution, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products is still the footstone of new drug research and development; however, how to further integrate modern technologies and make continuous innovation and breakthroughs in this field has been a challenge.
In this issue, Professor ZHU Hucheng (National Excellent Youth Fund Winner) of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Professor YANG Xinzhou (Hubei Chutian Scholar) of South Central Minzu University, and Professor ZHOU Xuefeng (Guangdong Outstanding Youth Fund Winner) of South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences were invited as the guest editors to create a special issue on Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Products for Drug Research and Development. It includes 8 experimental studies, and 2 cutting-edge reviews. A total of more than 15 novel compounds derived from medicinal plants and marine resources, and bioactive secondary metabolites from microorganisms were firstly identified and reported hereinafter, which not only enriches the diversity of secondary metabolites, but also provides important references for promising drug lead development in antiviral, anticancer, AChE inhibitory, vasorelaxant, α-glucosidase inhibitory activities and so on.
LI Qin et al. isolated 3 new bisabolane sesquiterpenoids, sterene acids A−C, and one new phenolic derivative from the fungus Stereum hirsutum. CHEN Minyu et al. isolated and identified 7 compounds from Selaginella doederleinii Hieron., among which a new neolignan, seladoeneolignan A was obtained. HUANG Jingxia et al. obtained 2 structurally novel and bioactive secondary metabolites from the marine fungus Xylariaceae sp. SCSIO41212, enriched the diversity of secondary metabolites of marine-derived fungi and provided an important reference for novel promising drug lead research. ZHANG Fuxin et al. studied the non-alkaloid chemical constituents with novel structures and their biological activities from the n-butanol fraction of the leaves of Rauvolfia vomitoria, isolated and identified two new phenylpropanoids, expanding the study of non-alkaloid chemistry in the genus of Rauvolfia and enriching the chemical diversity of this genus. ZANG Yi et al. isolated two undescribed phenylacetate derivatives together with a known analogue from the culture broth of Penicillium canescens, and those new structures extremely enrich chemical diversity of fungal polyketides and could be interesting targets for synthetic and biosynthetic chemists. HE Liming et al. obtained a new tetrahydroisoquinoline named peniciisoquinoline A from Penicillium sp. DM27 along with five known compounds, and tested the cytotoxic activity of the new alkaloid, which will assist in the further development and utilization of mangrove-derived fungi. JIN Pengfei et al. isolated two new monoterpene indole alkaloids, elegansine A and 14-hydroxysempervirine, and seven known monoterpene indole alkaloids from the stems of Gelsemium elegans. All the alkaloids showed potential analgesic activities, and these results enlarged the diversity of monoterpene indole alkaloids and also provided a new basis to develop novel potent analgesics. ZHONG Ying et al. isolated and identified two compounds from the roots of Ephedra sinica, including a new phenol named ephedrate A, and another newly isolated compound from this plant.
ZHOU Peng et al. highlighted the roles of macrocyclic polyketides isolated from bacteria and fungi, as well as their sources, structure diversity, and biological activities. She pointed out that these compounds displayed cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, and some other activities, such as antimalarial and antitrypanosomal activities. ZHOU Xuefeng provided a comprehensive overview of 168 natural products isolated from the mangrove soil-derived Streptomyces strains with their bioactivities for the first time, covering up to the end of 2021, revealing that they have important medicinal potential. It provided an important reference for the research status of natural products isolated from mangrove soil-derived genus Streptomyces, and revealed that mangrove soil-derived Streptomyces is an important resource of pharmaceutical molecules.
The above articles showed the integrated medicine and natural resources had a great prospect in discovering potential drug candidates and expanded the structural diversity of natural products, which contains a huge treasure house deserving more intensive concerns and developments.
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Prof. ZHU Hucheng
ZHU Hucheng, professor at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, PhD advisor, and recipient of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hubei Province. Prof. ZHU is mainly devoted to research on the extraction and separation, structure identification, and pharmacological activity of active natural medicines from medicinal plants and fungal sources. He has presided over more than a dozen projects, including the Excellent Young Scientists Fund and General Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and major science and technology projects and Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars of Hubei Province. He has published more than 60 SCI papers as the corresponding/first author in international academic journals, including Angew Chem Int Ed, Chem Sci, and Org Lett. He is currently serving as the deputy director of the Key Laboratory of Natural Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Resource Evaluation, Hubei Province, and the vice chairperson of the Professional Committee of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Natural Medicine, Hubei Medical Association.
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Prof. YANG Xinzhou
YANG Xinzhou, professor at the South-Central Minzu University (South-Central University for Nationalities) and master's advisor; selected for "Chutian Scholar", 3551 Innovative Talents Program of the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, and Young and Middle-aged Talents Program of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission. He is devoted to the discovery and elucidation of effective substances in ethnic and Chinese herbal medicines, structure optimization of compounds with important biological activities, and research and development of new traditional Chinese and ethnic medicines. He has presided over 4 projects by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and has presided over or participated in more than a dozen other national and provincial projects. He has published more than 100 SCI papers as the corresponding/first author in domestic and international core professional journals and applied for 14 Chinese and international patents, 8 of which have been granted. He is currently the executive director of the Scientific Research Branch of the Medical Association, the Chinese Medicine Standards Committee, International Organization for Standardization, and the Tujia Medicine Branch of the China Medical Association of Minorities.
Prof. ZHOU Xuefeng
ZHOU Xuefeng, professor and PhD advisor in South China Sea Institute of Oceanology (SCSIO), Chinese Academy of Sciences; deputy director of the Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Materia Medica. He earned his PhD degree in Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology in June 2008, and then held the position in SCSIO. From June 2014 to June 2015, he joined the Prof. William Fenical's Lab as a visiting scholar, in Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego. Now, his research focuses on the discovery of active natural products from marine microorganisms and the optimization of the drug lead compounds. He is currently a member of the Marine Drugs Professional Committee of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association. He has published more than 60 SCI papers as the corresponding/first author in the international journals, including J Med Chem, Brit J Pharmacol, Org Chem Front, and J Org Chem.
