“A Distillate of the LOTUS Initiative in Natural Products Research: Sharing Information, Building Knowledge, Extracting Wisdom”

The LOTUS initiative has reached a pivotal stage, poised to unveil its latest advancements [1]. This initiative aims to revolutionize knowledge access and sharing in Natural Products (NP) research, holding relevance across diverse scientific disciplines, including pharmacognosy, drug discovery, chemical ecology, and chemotaxonomy. Despite the importance of NP data, current improvements in these fields often remain confined to specific domains, limiting the comprehensive interpretation, translation, and utilization of information within a broader context. Addressing this challenge necessitates seamless access to high-quality linked open data, facilitating cross-fertilization among various life sciences.

Wikidata integration emerges as a potent solution, highlighted by prior studies, establishing it as a powerful platform for sharing knowledge in life sciences [2]. This abstract showcases the versatility of Wikidata through different applications and complex queries it can adeptly address (https://w.wiki/6rf2), emphasizing its role as a valuable source of prior knowledge across scientific endeavours.

Driven by a collaborative spirit, the LOTUS initiative fosters an environment that encourages researchers to access and curate invaluable NP data while facilitating the exchange of their own findings. This collective endeavour holds the potential to advance our understanding of the intricate relationships between biological systems and natural products. Through the dismantling of silos and the promotion of knowledge sharing, the LOTUS initiative envisions accelerating scientific progress and contributing to innovative discoveries in NP research.

Publication History

Article published online:
16 November 2023

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