Towards the Use of Whole Natural Products in Psychedelic Research and Therapy: Synergy, Multi-Target Profiles, and Beyond
Frontiers in Natural Product Chemistry December 6, 2021 5 citations
Interest in psychoactive plants like ayahuasca and Psilocybe mushrooms for clinical use has grown. An emerging drug discovery trend, polypharmacology, suggests that drugs acting on multiple targets may be safer and more effective than highly selective ones, especially for complex conditions such as mental health and neurodegenerative diseases. Natural products often contain multiple interacting compounds that produce synergistic effects. This chapter advocates using whole natural products rather than isolated compounds, combining psychedelic-assisted therapy with polypharmacology.