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IUPHAR/SIF Guide to Natural Products

Quick links: Citing | Ligands

Introduction

Natural products (NPs) offer an invaluable source of biologically active compounds, and are well recognised for their potential in drug discovery and development. However, to realise their potential clinical benefits, extreme care must be taken to ensure consistency and safety throughout the processes from sample selection/collection, isolation methodologies, structure elucidation and biological evaluation. Of critical importance is the thorough validation of the pharmacological profile of any proposed new NP drug. To achieve these objectives IUPHAR (https://iuphar.org/) and the Italian Society of Pharmacology (SIF; https://www.sifweb.org/) are collaborating to provide an expert-driven project to curate NPs as a resource within the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY.

Further reading:

Visioli F. Natural products: Call for hard evidence. Br J Pharmacol. 2024 181(16):3010-3011. doi:10.1111/bph.16437. PMID: 38783822

Wang X, Izzo AA, Papapetropoulos A, et al. Natural product pharmacology: the British Journal of Pharmacology perspective.. Br J Pharmacol. 2024 181(19):3547-3555. doi:10.1111/bph.17300. PMID: 39128855

Definition

Natural products may be simply defined as chemical substances produced by living organisms. Within the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY, we focus on single compounds (rather than mixtures) where there is validated evidence for biological impact, particularly in humans.

Inclusion Criteria

Natural products will be prioritised for considered in the Guide to PHARMACOLOGY if:

  • They are single molecules (and, rarely, where there are naturally-occurring chiral mixtures)
  • The chemical structure/s are fully defined
  • There is validated (preferably quantitative) evidence for a molecular target or targets through which the biological effects of the purified natural product are mediated

Compounds of undisclosed formulation or undefined mixtures of compounds will not be included.

Data Content

Breakdown of natural product data in GtoPdb:
All Natural products: 521
Natural products (with quantitative interactions): 312
Natural products (Approved Drugs): 74
Natural products (Approved Drugs with quantitative interactions): 39

Cite this page

The information on this page is curated by the GtoPdb curation team at the University of Edinburgh. If the information is useful to you, please cite it by referring to our citation page.

Download all Natural Products as CSV
Natural Products that are approved drugs and have quantitative interaction data
A   B   C   D   E   I   L   M   N   P   Q   R   S   T   Y  
Ligand name ID Synonyms
A Back to top
ajmalicine Approved drug PDB Ligand 8746 delta-yohimbine, raubasine, rauvasan, rauwolfia alkaloid
atropine Approved drug 320 Atropen®, hyoscyamine
 
B Back to top
borneol Approved drug 6413 (+)-borneol, camphol, dexborneol, isoborneol
 
C Back to top
caffeine Approved drug PDB Ligand 407 Peyona®
cannabidiol Approved drug PDB Ligand 4150 CBD, Epidiolex®, GWP42003-P, nabiximols (CBD + THC, fixed-dose oral spray), Sativex® (CBD + THC, fixed-dose oral spray)
cantharidin Approved drug 13081 Ycanth® (0.7% solution, single-use topical applicator)
capsaicin Approved drug PDB Ligand 2486 Qutenza®
cocaine Approved drug PDB Ligand 2286
codeine Approved drug 1673 Codicept®, methylmorphine
crofelemer Approved drug 7453 Fulyzaq®, SP-303
 
D Back to top
digoxin Approved drug PDB Ligand 4726 Lanoxin®
doxorubicin Approved drug PDB Ligand 7069 Adriamycin®, Caelyx® (liposomal doxorubicin), Doxil®, doxorubicin hydrochloride
 
E Back to top
erythromycin Approved drug PDB Ligand 1456 EM-A, E-Mycin®, Erythrocin®, erythromycin-A
 
I Back to top
ingenol mebutate Approved drug PDB Ligand 7443 PEP-005, Picato®
 
L Back to top
lovastatin Approved drug PDB Ligand Immunopharmacology Ligand 2739 (+)-mevinolin, 6α-methylcompactin, Mevacor®
 
M Back to top
(-)-menthol Approved drug PDB Ligand 2430 l-menthol, levomenthol
methoxsalen Approved drug PDB Ligand 12457 8-Methoxypsoralen, 8-MOP, xanthotoxin, zanthotoxin
morphine Approved drug PDB Ligand 1627 morphine sulfate, Ms Contin®, Oramorph®
mycophenolic acid Approved drug PDB Ligand 6832 ERL-080, Myfortic® (mycophenolate sodium)
 
N Back to top
neomycin Approved drug PDB Ligand 709 Neo-Rx®, neomycin sulfate
nicotine Approved drug PDB Ligand 2585 Nicorette®, Nicotrol®
novobiocin Approved drug PDB Ligand 12021 Albamycin®, cardelmycin, cathomycin, PA 93, streptonivicin
 
P Back to top
paclitaxel Approved drug PDB Ligand 2770 7-epipaclitaxel, Abraxane® (albumin-bound suspension), Taxol®
papaverine Approved drug PDB Ligand 13147 Pavacap®, Pavadyl®
physostigmine Approved drug 6598 Antilirium®, eserine, physostigmine salicylate
 
Q Back to top
quinidine Approved drug PDB Ligand Antimalarial Ligand 2342 Quinaglute®, Quinidex®, quinidine hydrochloride
quinine Approved drug PDB Ligand Antimalarial Ligand 2510 GNF-Pf-506, Qualaquin®, Quinate®, quinine bisulphate, quinine sulfate
 
R Back to top
rifampicin Approved drug PDB Ligand 2765 Rifadin®, rifampin
rifamycin Approved drug 4570 Aemcolo®, rifamycin SV
 
S Back to top
salicylic acid Approved drug PDB Ligand Immunopharmacology Ligand 4306 Bazuka Extra Strength Gel®, salicylate
scopolamine Approved drug PDB Ligand 330 hyoscine, levo-duboisine, Scopoderm®
 
T Back to top
Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol Approved drug PDB Ligand 2424 THC, Δ9-THC, Abbott 40566, delta9-THC, Marinol®, tetrahydrocannabinol
tetrandrine Approved drug 11859 (+)-Tetrandrine, (S,S)-Tetrandrine, D-Tetrandrine, fanchinin, Tetrandrin
theophylline Approved drug PDB Ligand Immunopharmacology Ligand 413 Nuelin®, Slo-Bid®, Theolair®
tobramycin Approved drug PDB Ligand 10930 Bethkis®, Kitabis®, Tobi Podhaler®, Tobradex® (tobramycin + dexamethasone), Vantobra®
trabectedin Approved drug PDB Ligand 2774 ecteinascidin 743, ET-743, Yondelis®
tubocurarine Approved drug 2294 (+)-tubocurarine, d-tubocurarine
 
Y Back to top
yohimbine Approved drug 102 Actibine®, corynine, quebrachin, yohimbin