Role of Metabolomics in the Discovery of Modern Drugs from Traditional Resources

Metabolomics, the science of metabolome, is an emerging “omics” technology that deals with the characterization of metabolites and metabolic pathways in biological systems. It uncovers the intricate network of chemical reactions and pathways occurring within cells through analysis of the small molecules generated from these processes. Metabolomics provides valuable insights into the metabolic state of cells and the functioning of biological systems under various conditions, including health, disease, and environmental changes, identifies biomarkers for disease diagnosis, and facilitates the discovery of new therapeutics and targets. Moreover, metabolomics has given a new dimension to biomedicine, facilitating the discovery of active molecules from natural products by reducing both time and costs. Additionally, it offers enhanced reproducibility with minimal sample handling errors. Metabolomics employs both experimental and computational tools that significantly contribute to discovering probable drug-like compounds from traditional resources by analyzing chemical libraries and identifying novel drug targets through metabolic network analyses. Metabolomics techniques, characterized by their high-throughput, reduced sample size, increased sensitivity, expedited analysis, and comprehensive coverage of metabolites, have propelled drug discovery by identifying promising drug candidates with novel mechanisms of action. Within this context, the article aims to emphasize the role of metabolomics in drug discovery, particularly highlighting the recent technological advances that facilitate the identification of promising drug candidates from traditional resources. This article also sheds light on the potential future application of metabolomics in the field of drug discovery.