PO23 Harnessing Drosophila melanogaster for Bioactive Natural Product Discovery
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3407/85vn2v70Keywords:
In vivo models, Fruit fly, Neuroprotective, Diabetes, Extracts, Medicinal plantsAbstract
Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model for bioactive compound discovery due to its genetic tractability, short life cycle, and physiological similarities to humans. About 75% of human disease-related genes have orthologs in Drosophila, making it ideal for high-throughput screenings. Here, we explore its use in evaluating medicinal plant extracts for neuroprotection and diabetes. Tagetes zypaquierensis (1000 ppm) improved locomotion in neurotoxin-exposed flies, while Juglans neotropica reduced lipid and carbohydrate levels in diabetic flies. These findings highlight Drosophila as a cost-effective, high-throughput platform for assessing toxicity and pharmacological potential in early-stage natural product research.
References
[1] LOPEZ-ORTIZ, C., et al. Drosophila Melanogaster as a Translational Model System to Explore the Impact of Phytochemicals on Human Health. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. (2023). [DOI]
[2] WEI, G., et al. Dme-Hsa Disease Database (Dhdd): Conserved Human Disease-Related Mirna and Their Targeting Genes in Drosophila Melanogaster. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. (2018). [DOI]
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Copyright (c) 2025 Erika Plazas, Ivonne Gonzalez, Cecilia Rincón Prieto, Diego Ricardo Muñoz

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