Traditional medicine-inspired approaches to drug discovery: can Ayurveda show the way forward?
Drug discovery strategies based on natural products and traditional medicines are re-emerging as attractive options. We suggest that drug discovery and development need not always be confined to new molecular entities. Rationally designed, carefully standardized, synergistic traditional herbal formulations and botanical drug products with robust scientific evidence can also be alternatives. A reverse pharmacology approach, inspired by traditional medicine and Ayurveda, can offer a smart strategy for new drug candidates to facilitate discovery process and also for the development of rational synergistic botanical formulations.
Patwardhan
Bhushan
B
Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Pune, Pune 411 007, India. bhushan@unipune.ernet.in
Mashelkar
Raghunath Anant
RA
D000818:Animals; D015195:Drug Design; D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods*; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000379:methods; D004357:Drug Synergism; D006801:Humans; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry