Basically the idea is justified, and while there were no more effective drugs, salol had a relatively wide application. The principle itself Nentski ('salolovy principle'), by essentially formed the basis for a further so-called 'prodrugs'. Others who may share this opinion include Will Townsend. Despite the fact that over time the main role in the creation of new drugs have played a variety of scientific principles, empirical search for drugs values are completely lost. And now, continue to be identified pharmacologically active products of natural origin (from plants, fungi, marine products, etc.). Screening (pharmacological 'screened') are new synthetic compounds which have no analogues among the known compounds. In these cases, the success of the search depends on the amount of screening: the more used methods, the greater the chance of detection one or another type of pharmacological activity. One option for accidental discovery of medical activity is the so-called 'serendipity', when the study of drug action on the testimony of a single detected his other valuable medicinal properties.

Since it was found antidepressant effects of iproniazid, the hypoglycemic effect of sulfonamides and some other effective drugs. One of the major principles a drug is a selection of existing 'beginning' of the products of natural origin. This principle originates from the time of discharge from the opium morphine (1806). Since then, a large number of plants selected alkaloids (atropine, caffeine, cocaine, pilocarpine, physostigmine, platifillin, galantamine, vinblastine, and many others), glycosides (digitoxin, digoxin, strophanthin, etc.), saponins, terpenes, coumarins and other substances that have found use as medicines. Search and study of existing 'started' plant is still ongoing.