Abstract
The current scenario of drug discovery and development is facing a model perturbation, despite significant advances in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, combinatorial chemistry and high through put assays. There is an urgent need of a paradigm shift in approaches to drug discovery. Natural products of Ayurveda offer a vast potential for novel phytomolecules with clinical activity. In India, Ayurveda is availed of by more than 70% of the population. There has been a renaissance in scientific exploration of medicinal plants with therapeutic activity. New methods have been proposed and developed for such exploration. Ayurvedic Pharmacoepidemiology, Observational therapeutics and Reverse Pharmacology paths have led to significant hits, leads and drug candidates for several diseases. The active phyto-molecules will also provide novel scaffolds for medicinal chemists to enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity. Several plants have shown promise Viz. Mucuna pruriens for Parkinson’s disease, Nycthanthes arbor-tritis for malaria and Phyllanthus amarus for hepatitis. This approach of Reverse Pharmacology has also been adopted globally by several groups. A plea is made to look at the therapeutic activity of natural products for a revolution in drug discovery and development.
Highlights
A life-long pursuit in the domain of drug discovery and development, from the New Chemical Entities (NCE) and medicinal plants, obviously led to a serious introspection on the ruling paradigms and conventional approaches, followed globally, by the pharmaceutical industry
It is essential that we develop multidisciplinary Ra nd D teamwork and infrastructure for reverse pharmacology
“We found that Ayurveda, a science of long life, almost 6000 years old, can serve as a “goldmine” for novel anti-inflammatory agents used for centuries to treat chronic diseases.”
Summary
A life-long pursuit in the domain of drug discovery and development, from the New Chemical Entities (NCE) and medicinal plants, obviously led to a serious introspection on the ruling paradigms and conventional approaches, followed globally, by the pharmaceutical industry. While studying the bedside drug-induced novel finding we can apply these criteria to Ayurvedic Pharmacology as suggested by Vaidya et al (2003) we must not forget he caution expressed by Doll (1992), “None of these nine viewpoints can bring indisputable evidence for or against a cause and effect hypothesis What they can do, with greater or less strength, is to help answer the fundamental question-is there any other way of explaining the set of facts before us, is there any other answer or more, likely than cause and effect?” Vaidya (2011) suggested that observational therapeutics in Ayurveda can provide such identified hits for new drug discovery through RP. The 0.01 % market yield from the baseline of 100% NCEs makes one wonder for the need of a paradigm shift in drug discovery process
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