“A magic dwells in each beginning” (Hermann Hesse 1941), but these first steps when beginning something new can be tough. In this publication, newcomers to natural product research and, specifically, natural product drug discovery will find a summary of curated 30 key publications selected through an international survey of experts. The initial submissions were then critically evaluated by the authors. The selected works cover various aspects of natural product research, including pharmacology, analytical sciences, chemistry, emerging open science, and computational approaches. The study is a collaboration between researchers in North America, Asia and Europe. The authors discuss historical milestones in natural product drug discovery, highlighting the specific contributions of the U.S. National Cancer Institute in developing anticancer and anti-HIV agents. It also addresses current innovations and challenges in the field, emphasizing the importance of data quality, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the integration of artificial intelligence. By providing this carefully selected reading list and accompanying analysis, we aim to offer a comprehensive yet accessible entry point for researchers new to natural product-based drug discovery and highlight future directions and opportunities in this dynamic field. The team of authors include eminent scholars like Professor Douglas Kinghorn, former Editor in Chief of the Journal of Natural Products, distinguished university professor at Ohio State University, and Fellow of the London School of Pharmacy and its alumnus, who highlighted: “The field of natural products remains of high importance for providing lead compounds in drug discovery as well as having a wide use among the public as herbal remedies. Hopefully, this new review article will help to attract younger scientists to research projects focussed on interesting naturally occurring molecules from organisms”. Professor Judith M. Rollinger, former President of the Society for Medicinal Plant and Natural Product Research and Professor at the University of Vienna stated: “I am most grateful for the community efforts in selecting key papers in natural product research and thereby providing a representative glimpse on scientifically diverse readings beneficial for newcomers to the field. We hope, this survey and its analysis will help to facilitate access to this rich research field and overall create curiosity to further explore the beautiful world of natural products in drug discovery”. Professor Atanas G. Atanasov, the founder and executive leader of The International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce (INPST) further pointed out that: “The entire scientific journey, from setting initial questions to making new findings, is just as valuable as the discoveries themselves. I hope this work will aid and inspire future scientists to embrace the dynamic, interdisciplinary field of natural product research with passion and purpose”. Professor Michael Heinrich from the UCL School of Pharmacy adds: “Hermann Hesse is right, but it is a tough ‘magic’, and in the end, we need sound and reproducible research. I trust that this paper will make a key contribution to fostering further research in natural product biology, pharmacology and chemistry”. Natural products have long been a cornerstone of drug discovery, providing diverse and biologically relevant chemical scaffolds. Hopefully, this compilation of the suggested publications will provide a solid and broad fundament for researchers interested in natural product research and drug discovery. This follows from our previous initiative on core publications in ethnopharmacology (Jalil et al., 2023) | doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2023.1141502. |
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