Natural Terpenoids as Drug Candidates

Dear Colleagues,

Terpenoids constitute the largest class of natural products, making them a rich source of potential candidates for new drug development. The name “terpenoids” comes from the fact that the first compound of this family was isolated from turpentine. The basic building block of this class of compounds is the “isoprene” unit, which is composed of five carbons. The combination of two isoprene units leads to the formation of “monoterpenes”, while the combination of three isoprene units leads to the formation of “sesquiterpenes” and the combination of four units results in the formation of “diterpenes”, and so on. Natural terpenoids can be isolated from different natural sources such as plants, animals, microbes, insects, plant pathogens and endophytes and marine organisms. Several reports including in vitro, preclinical and clinical studies have confirmed the wide array of important pharmacological properties of this class of compounds. Several compounds have been developed into drug leads including the anticancer drug Taxol® and the antimalarial drug artemisinin. It is a generally accepted fact among scientists that “Terpenes are the Next Frontiers in Wellness”. In the light of these successes, we are announcing this Special Issue to provide new insights into the potential of natural terpenoids as drug candidates. We aim to publish research manuscripts and reviews focusing on the following:

• The isolation of terpenoids from terrestrial plants, microbes, marine organisms and other sources;
• The development of new drug candidates from natural terpenoids;
• Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies of drug candidates from natural terpenoids;
• The development of new analytical methods for the qualitative and quantitative determination of drug candidates from natural terpenoids;
• Evaluation of the pharmacological and toxicological effects of natural terpenoids;
• Evaluation of ADME of drug candidates from natural terpenoids;
• Clinical trials reporting the activities of drug candidates developed from natural terpenoids;
• The development of pharmaceutical preparations and new drug delivery systems of drug candidates from natural terpenoids;
• Evaluation of the biological targets and biomarkers of drug candidates from natural terpenoids including the determination of their target enzymes, receptors, membranes, genes, ion channels, inhibitors, agonists, antagonists, neurons and binding affinity;
• The application of computational methods for the development of drug candidates from natural terpenoids;
• The application of artificial intelligence for the development of drug candidates from natural terpenoids with optimum activity and minimum side effects;
• The application of biotechnological methods to produce natural terpenoids from different sources;
• The application of nanotechnology for the formulation of drug candidates from natural terpenoids.

Dr. Kuei-Hung Lai
Dr. Bo-Rong Peng
Guest Editors

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