The modification of natural products for medical use

Drug innovation is characterized by painstaking molecular-level syntheses and modifications as the basic components of research and development. Similarly, natural products are chemically tailored and modified based upon their structural and biological properties. To some extent, the modification of natural products is quite different from de novo structure-based drug discovery. This review describes the general strategies and principles for the modification of natural products to drugs, as illustrated by several successful medicines that originated from natural products. (C) 2017 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.