Medicinal fungi may be suitable for identifying novel drugs-The Hindu-03-10-2022

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ENVIRONMENT
• research by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai, has shown that
some chemicals secreted by medicinal fungi may find use as novel drugs.
• The researchers analysed the structure of 1,830 secondary metabolites of medicinal
fungi.
• Secondary metabolites are chemical compounds that fungi secrete when they are
stressed.
• Cordycepin, a secondary metabolite produced by Cordyceps species of fungus, is
known to have anti-tumour properties.
• Secondary metabolites of medicinal fungi have molecular properties, which are
important for drug-likeness, similar to approved drugs.