TCM has a lot of wins along just those lines. For instance:
Artemisinin (qinghaosu) from artemisia annua. This won the 2015 Nobel Prize, and is now the cornerstone of global malaria therapy.
Arsenic trioxide, the purified form of the TCM mineral pishuang, now a very common treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. Often curative in a single dose: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221304891...
Camptothecin from camptotheca acuminata, precursor of topotecan and irinotecan for solid tumours.
Ephedrine from ephedra sinica -- template for modern bronchodilators and decongestants.
Many others. Omacetaxine, minnelide, and more.
Very often, the first thing a medicinal chemist seeking new drug templates does is look to herbs that are used by indigenous populations or in "traditional" medicine systems. There's an entire journal dedicated to this:
> https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-ethnopharma...
Artemisinin (qinghaosu) from artemisia annua. This won the 2015 Nobel Prize, and is now the cornerstone of global malaria therapy.
Arsenic trioxide, the purified form of the TCM mineral pishuang, now a very common treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. Often curative in a single dose: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221304891...
Camptothecin from camptotheca acuminata, precursor of topotecan and irinotecan for solid tumours.
Ephedrine from ephedra sinica -- template for modern bronchodilators and decongestants.
Many others. Omacetaxine, minnelide, and more.
Very often, the first thing a medicinal chemist seeking new drug templates does is look to herbs that are used by indigenous populations or in "traditional" medicine systems. There's an entire journal dedicated to this:
> https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-ethnopharma...