Abstract: The rising global emphasis on sustainability has redefined the priorities in natural product research, necessitating a shift toward eco-conscious sourcing and extraction methodologies. This review distinctly underscores the strategic convergence of sustainable sourcing and green extraction as not merely environmental imperatives but also as drivers of innovation, ethical integrity, and economic resilience. Unlike prior literature that often isolates technological advancement from socio-environmental accountability, this work presents a holistic narrative, evaluating how circular economic frameworks, policy mechanisms like the Nagoya Protocol, and digital traceability collectively enable transparent, equitable, and ecologically sound natural product supply chains. We examine successful real-world integrations of green technologies such as supercritical CO₂ and pressurized hot water extraction in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics sectors, highlighting both scalability and functional efficacy. This synthesis is uniquely positioned to bridge laboratory innovation with industrial feasibility by examining lifecycle impacts, bioeconomy benefits, and regulatory gaps. Importantly, we spotlight overlooked challenges such as restricted access to sustainably cultivated biomaterials, toxicological ambiguities of novel green solvents, and inequitable benefit-sharing with indigenous communities. What sets this review apart is its emphasis on the interconnectedness of sustainability, policy, and innovation, which is essential for redefining the future of natural product development. By incorporating perspectives from omics-based resource optimization, synthetic biology, and biotechnological cultivation, this paper advocates for a paradigm shift that aligns green science with social justice and market viability.
Chakraborty et al. (Tue,) studied this question.