Rethinking Natural Product Discovery: A Complex Epistemological Approach Linking Chemical Ecology and Pharmacognosy

Global challenges such as health crises, biodiversity loss, and climate change demand a rethinking of natural product discovery. Despite advances in dereplication, metabolomics, and genomic sequencing, the epistemological foundations of this field remain underexplored. Inspired by Edgar Morin’s complex thought, I propose a transdisciplinary framework that expands the concept of biocommunicators and redefines chemical prospecting as a macroconcept. Integrating chemical ecology and pharmacognosy through three interdependent dimensions─in silico, in vitro, and in vivo─this model promotes a sustainable and reflective transition toward complex paradigms in natural product research.