NaturAr: A Collaborative, Open-Source Database of Natural Products from Argentinian Biodiversity for Drug Discovery and Bioprospecting

Abstract

Since the early stages of modern medicine, natural products have been a source of inspiration for the development of bioactive compounds. Around half of the approved small-molecule drugs trace their origins to natural products or their derivatives, highlighting the importance of their correct classification and identification. The information generated by the experimental groups is not usually unified and is available only in publications or general databases, where the compounds are not linked to their natural sources. To address this need, numerous natural product databases specific to distinct geographic regions have emerged. In this work, we introduce NaturAr, a natural products database dedicated to the cataloging of the rich biodiversity of Argentina. At the time of submission, 243 papers were reviewed, leading to a database of more than 1200 compounds from all across the country. A distinctive quality of this database is its collaborative and open-source framework, which promotes contributions from the research community.