SAPPHIRE: Gupta and Jachak guideline for a Pre-Step analysis of medicinal plants for In Silico research (SAPPHIRE: Systematic assessment and Pre step protocol for herbal in silico research and evaluation)

Background

For decades, computational studies have delved into the realm of medicinal plant research, significantly propelled by the burgeoning pharmaceutical industry's quest to harness plants' pharmacological potentials. Despite advancements, challenges persist in identifying phytochemicals crucial for preliminary in silico analyses, as there areno established guidelines to streamline this process.

Purpose

This study aims to fill this gap by developing a foundational guideline for in silico studies targeting medicinal plants.

Methods

Through a comprehensive literature review on PubMed, we examined current trends in phytochemical analysis, leading to the development of a preliminary fourteen-component checklist. Subsequently a focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with field experts from Natural product research, Phytochemistry and Bio informatics. The suggestions and insights from the FGD were incorporated into the final checklist.

Results

After the comprehensive review of literature and the FGD, the Fourteen item checklist was refined into an eight-item checklist. This guideline was designed to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of phytochemical identification and the subsequent computational study of medicinal plants.

Conclusions

This refined checklist not only aims to standardize this crucial pre-step but also fosters a more systematic approach to the computational exploration of plant-based therapeutics.