Abstract
Background: Bioactive natural compounds have made significant contributions to health and medicine due to their therapeutic properties, yet they remain a vastly untapped resource in the quest for novel therapeutic agents. Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism in biomedicine, offering a versatile platform for genetic and pharmacological studies. Despite their proven value, Drosophila models in the primary screening of natural products for drug discovery and clinical practices remain underutilized. Purpose: This review elucidates the utility, effectiveness, and unique advantages of Drosophila as a model for exploring natural products in disease treatment, with the objective of demonstrating how Drosophila models provide new insights into the action mechanisms of natural products and aid in their therapeutic development. Methods: Drosophila models in drug discovery were the focus of this study, including phenotypic approaches, genetic tools, advanced technologies, and available resources. A systematic literature review was performed via PubMed (2015-2025) using the keywords: "Drosophila," "natural products," "compound," "medicine," "drug," and "specific human disease model based on Drosophila." Boolean operators (AND/OR) were used to refine searches, and PRISMA guidelines were followed to ensure methodological rigor. Results: The analysis revealed that Drosophila models in natural product screening offer reproducible phenotypic readouts, well-established genetic tools, and cost effectiveness. Comprehensive Drosophila model resources and successful applications across various disease contexts are highlighted. Conclusion: This review establishes a refined framework for using Drosophila in high-throughput screening of natural product libraries to promote its systematic integration into natural product drug discovery pipelines.
