Mahmoud AH Mostafa^1,2* and Abdelaziz AA El-Sayed^3,4

¹Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawarah 41477, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
²Departmentof Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, Assiut 71526, Egypt
³Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Al-Madinah Al Munawarah 42351, Saudi Arabia
⁴Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt

*Corresponding Author: Mahmoud AH Mostafa, Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawarah 41477, Kingdom Saudi Arabia and Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al-Azhar University, Assiut Branch, Assiut 71526, Egypt.

Received: December 02, 2024; Published: December 28, 2024

Abstract

Natural products, bioactive molecules synthesized by living organisms, have long served as a cornerstone of drug discovery and therapeutic innovation. However, their relevance extends far beyond pharmacological applications, permeating diverse scientific disciplines such as ecology, microbiome research, synthetic biology, and personalized medicine. These compounds reveal intricate ecological relationships, drive molecular innovation, and provide insights into evolutionary dynamics. With the advent of omics tech nologies and artificial intelligence (AI), natural product research has undergone a transformative shift, enabling the rapid discovery, engineering, and optimization of bioactive compounds. This review synthesizes the multifaceted roles of natural products, highlight ing their contributions to sustainable agriculture, environmental resilience, and biotechnological innovation. Furthermore, it critical ly examines ethical and sustainability challenges, emphasizing the need for equitable resource sharing and biodiversity conservation. By integrating traditional approaches with cutting-edge technological advancements, this review underscores the transformative potential of natural products to address global challenges in health, ecology, and biotechnology. Future directions are proposed to enhance the ethical, technological, and ecological dimensions of natural product research, advocating for interdisciplinary collabora tions that prioritize sustainability and equity.

Keywords: Natural Products; Synthetic Biology; Omics Technologies; AI in Drug Discovery; Microbiome Interactions; Sustainability and Bioprospecting

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Citation

Citation: Mahmoud AH Mostafa and Abdelaziz AA El-Sayed. “Beyond Chemistry: Unveiling the Interdisciplinary Role of Natural Products in Modern Biology". Acta Scientific Pharmaceutical Sciences 9.1 (2025): 114-128.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Mahmoud AH Mostafa and Abdelaziz AA El-Sayed. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.