From ethnomedicine to molecular networking and beyond: strategy evolution in medicinal plant-based natural-product discovery

Abstract Traditional medicinal plants remain an important source of bioactive natural products. However, classical phytochemical discovery is increasingly limited by plant selection uncertainty, labor-intensive workflows, and frequent rediscovery. Recent advances emphasize integrative strategies that combine ethnopharmacological knowledge with modern analytical, metabolomics, molecular networking, and data-driven approaches. This review outlines the evolution of plant-derived natural product discovery workflows and discusses current trends, advantages, and remaining challenges in improving discovery efficiency and compound prioritization.