Preprint / Version 1

Network Pharmacology Approach for Medicinal Plants: Review and Assessment

Authors

  • Fatima Noor Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; [email protected] (F.N.); [email protected] (M.T.u.Q.)
  • Muhammad Qamar Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; [email protected] (F.N.); [email protected] (M.T.u.Q.)
  • Usman Ashfaq Department of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan; [email protected] (F.N.); [email protected] (M.T.u.Q.)
  • Aqel Albutti Department of Medical Biotechnology, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia
  • Ameen Alwashmi Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] (A.S.S.A.); [email protected] (M.A.A.)
  • Mohammad Aljasir Department of Medical Laboratories, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah 51452, Saudi Arabia; [email protected] (A.S.S.A.); [email protected] (M.A.A.)

Keywords:

network pharmacology, medicinal plants, active ingredients, system biology, drug discovery

Abstract

Natural products have played a critical role in medicine due to their ability to bind and modulate cellular targets involved in disease. Medicinal plants hold a variety of bioactive scaffolds for the treatment of multiple disorders. The less adverse effects, affordability, and easy accessibility highlight their potential in traditional remedies. Identifying pharmacological targets from active ingredients of medicinal plants has become a hot topic for biomedical research to generate innovative therapies. By developing an unprecedented opportunity for the systematic investigation of traditional medicines, network pharmacology is evolving as a systematic paradigm and becoming a frontier research field of drug discovery and development. The advancement of network pharmacology has opened up new avenues for understanding the complex bioactive components found in various medicinal plants. This study is attributed to a comprehensive summary of network pharmacology based on current research, highlighting various active ingredients, related techniques/tools/databases, and drug discovery and development applications. Moreover, this study would serve as a protocol for discovering novel compounds to explore the full range of biological potential of traditionally used plants. We have attempted to cover this vast topic in the review form. We hope it will serve as a significant pioneer for researchers working with medicinal plants by employing network pharmacology approaches. Keywords: network pharmacology, medicinal plants, active ingredients, system biology, drug discovery

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