Abstract

REVERSE PHARMACOLOGY; AN OVERVIEW

Dr. Virendra Kushwaha, Dr. Pooja Agrawal*, Dr. Vipul Shukla, Dr. Nasreen F. Khan

Abstract

Development of a new drug is a complex, time taking and costly procedure. Reverse Pharmacology from traditional medicine is emerging as a model revolution for new drug discovery. RP is the science of integrating bedside documented experiential hits into leads by trans-disciplinary exploratory studies (in vitro and in vivo) and further developing these leads into drug candidates through state-ofthe- art experimental and clinical research. Many drugs have been successfully developed from natural sources like Aspirin, Quinine etc. Sir Ram Nath Chopra and Gananath Sen laid the foundation for the Reverse Pharmacology of ayurvedic drugs in India. India has amended the Drug & Cosmetic Act to include a category of Phytopharmaceuticals to be developed from medicinal plants by Reverse Pharmacology, with evidence of quality, safety, and efficacy. ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) has recently established an advanced centre of RP at Swami Prakashananda Ayurveda Research Centre, Mumbai, where the research focus is on diabetes, musculoskeletal health, malaria, cancer, and neuronal plasticity. Drawback of use of traditional medicinal knowledge is that, most of the work in this field has remained within clinics of traditional practitioners or confined to academic research laboratories and is not taken by industries that are strong in research and development. Many countries are becoming increasingly aware of the value of their traditional knowledge and they are using it to fast forward the drug discovery process. Reverse Pharmacology approaches need to be developed further and optimized as novel means for fast-track drug discovery and development of newer, safer, and effective drugs.

Keywords: Reverse pharmacology, drug development, natural source, research.