International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce
Science guides the way
By Syed Moiz Ahmed
Contribution participating in the INPST 2018 Science Communication Awards contest.
With the rapid increase in our understanding of disease biology, it is quite evident that treatment outcomes are dependent on patient molecular profiles. The focus is now to get the right treatment to the right patient allowing for greater safety and efficacy. The authors have shed light on a molecular biomarker that could potentially be used in this new treatment paradigm.
By Yingnan Lei1, Dongdong Wang1, 2, 3*
Contribution participating in the INPST 2018 Science Communication Awards contest.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide. So, it is very interesting to develop novel treatment strategies as well as drugs against CVDs. Many natural products have been proven to be safe for human consumption throughout the world, and still represent an enormous pool for the discovery and development of new drugs. In recent decades, multiple research teams investigated the possible benefits of natural products and their active components against CVDs. Our group mainly focused on screening of natural products (including ginger [1]), among others) to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases. Recently we published results linking ginger and macrophage cholesterol efflux, which is an important event in CVDs [1]. In this blog contribution, we will briefly present some highlights and major findings in our study.
By Nasir Tajuddeen*
Contribution participating in the INPST 2018 Science Communication Awards contest.
Every year, malaria continues to cause severe morbidity and mortality. Therefore, scientists are actively collaborating with the World Health Organization towards an eradication of the disease. One of the main pillars of the eradication agenda involves killing the transmissible forms of the parasite that causes malaria, using drugs. This will, in turn, curtail the spread of the disease. However, there is a lack of compounds that can kill the transmissible form of the parasite. This blog post underlines that natural products might hold the key towards discovering the needed transmission-blocking compounds and calls for their joint exploration. Indeed, the historical link between natural compounds and the battle against malaria supports this argument.
Figure 1: Stopping the spread of Plasmodium from infected humans to mosquitoes will eradicate malaria.
Continue reading “Malaria eradication: The untapped natural products goldmine”