Monoclonal Antibodies and Immunoassay for Medical Plant-Derived Natural Products: A Review

Owing to the widespread application value, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have become a tool of increasing importance in modern bioscience research since their emergence. Recently, some researchers have focused on the production of MAbs against medical plant-derived natural products (MPNP), the secondary metabolites of medical plants. At the same time, various immunoassay methods were established on the basis of these MPNP MAbs, and then rapidly developed into a novel technique for medical plant and phytomedicine research in the area of quality control, pharmacological analysis, drug discovery, and so on. Dependent on the research works carried out in recent years, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of MAbs against MPNP and the application of various immunoassay methods established on the basis of these MAbs, and conclude with a short section on future prospects and research trends in this area.