Aniruddh Prasad Chaudhary

Natural bioactive compounds derived from plants have been central to human medicine since antiquity. Civilizations across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East developed complex knowledge systems that preserved the therapeutic value of medicinal plants. Today, this traditional wisdom intersects with modern pharmacology, biotechnology, and clinical research, leading to a renewed focus on natural molecules as drug candidates. Scientific evidence increasingly validates the efficacy, safety, and diverse biological effects of herbal compounds, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, and metabolic regulatory activities. However, concerns remain regarding standardization, toxicity, regulatory gaps, and herb-drug interactions. This review explores the continuum from historical ethnopharmacology to contemporary drug discovery frameworks, highlighting major bioactive compound classes, mechanistic actions, clinical evidence, and future prospects for integrating natural molecules into evidence-based healthcare. The rediscovery of natural bioactive molecules represents not only scientific advancement but a reconnection with longstanding traditional knowledge systems that may reshape the future of global therapeutics.

A series of novel N-(substituted)-2-[4-oxo-2-phenylquinazolin-3(4H)-yl] acetohydrazide derivatives were designed and synthesized, and their structures were characterized by 1H, 13C NMR, IR and Mass Spectral analysis. Their antimicrobial activity against bacterial strains and unicellular and multicellular pathogenic fungal strains were evaluated, and the results of in vitro antimicrobial evaluations of all newly synthesized compounds revealed that compounds 4(a-g) found to possess varied degree of antibacterial and antifungal activities Therefore, it can be inferred that presence of Schiff base nucleus in newly synthesized compounds can act as better system for antimicrobial activity. Lipinski rule were evident that all synthesized compounds have a good potential for development as an oral agent and can be potentially active drug candidate.