Natural Product Databases and Tools for Anti-cancer Drug Discovery

Throughout the ages, compounds collected and/or isolated from natural sources have been the basic source of medicinal agents against a variety of diseases. The data generated from the extensive experimentation conducted in research labs from all over the world has diversity and complexity, and the challenging task for database creators is to store, represent, and exchange this data. The natural product database is required to be easily accessible for supporting drug discovery efforts. A possible solution for this is provided by chemical databases based on bio- and chem-informatic approaches. Some of the anti-cancer natural product databases, along with the tools required for creating and accessing the information, are discussed here.