LAUSR

Through several thousand million years of adaptive evolution, venomous animal species, toxic plants, and microorganisms have developed a large group of high-affinity and stable natural-based biomolecules, which have now been isolated and identified. Some of these biomolecules can specifically bind to human receptors/ligands, which means they have a great potential to be used as novel prototype drug candidates for disease treatments such as hypertension, cancer, diabetes, drug-resistant bacterial infections etc. In the last 2 decades, a lot of studies have been focused on certain types of specific molecular targets on cells, which can be recognized by natural-based biomolecules, to unveil their use in different aspects of clinical prognosis and therapeutic applications. However, many natural-based prototype drugs entering clinical trials are still struggling because their modes of action are not fully identified. Thus, we must do more lab-based and preclinical work toward this research direction. In this Research Topic, we brought together leading researchers to exchange and share their findings on the hot topics of novel identified venom-based and plant-derived natural biomolecules with potent pharmacological activity and their corresponding molecular mechanisms to fulfil the gap which is hindering their potential use as novel prototype drug candidates for disease treatments such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, anti-bacterial infection, and neurological disorders. An important aspect of this Research Topic is to unleash the anticancer potentials of the natural biomolecules such as cytotoxins and peptides. Chong et al. identified two cytotoxins fromNaja sumatrana (NS-CTX) andNaja kaouthia (NK-CTX), which were highly potent in inhibiting the growth of lung cancer cell lines selectively. Chong’s research team further concluded that these cobra cytotoxins have such potential; however, their highly evolved and diet-adapted cytotoxic nature might have limited the intended application as a safe and effective drug. From their study, the data underscores the need for a comprehensive, fundamental investigation that addresses the selectivity and cell death mechanism of OPEN ACCESS