Biologically-Active Natural Products

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that nature acts as a pharmacy, offering us products, from the forest pharmacy and the pharmacy below water, with which we can heal ourselves: For example, aspirin, quinine, cyclosporins, and penicillin. This paper details the techniques that are available to researchers, to collect samples of natural products from the wild in a systematic manner, to extract compounds from these samples, to isolate the biologically-active compounds within these extracts, to characterize the biologically-active compounds chemically in terms of their structure, to evaluate the biologically-active compounds biologically, to determine potentially useful therapeutic effects and finally the methodology necessary to take these compounds to clinical trial. The author stresses the importance of finding new and more effective drugs to fight against bacterial infections and cancer. Outline.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Nature's Pharmacopeia.
The Isolation of Biologically-Active Compounds and their Extraction Identification: Techniques
Introduction
Chemical Extraction
Biological Evaluation
Chemical Analysis
Chromatography
Solid Phase Extraction
Paper Chromatography
Thin Layer Chromatography
Flash Chromatography
High Performance Liquid Chromatography
Central Counter Current Chromatography
Determining the Chemical Structure of Compounds Isolated by Chromatography
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Mass Spectrometry
Drug Development
Examples of the Isolation and Identification
An Example of Extraction, Isolation and Chemical Characterization of Biologically-Active Compounds from Larch Wood
Biologically-active Compounds from Marine Organisms
What Compounds Have Been Isolated From Marine Organisms?
Biologically-Active Anti-Cancer Compounds Testing for Human Safety
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Chromatography is the process whereby two or more compounds or ions are separated through the distribution of the compound or ion between two phases, one that is mobile and the other which is stationary. These two phases can be of any combination: liquid-liquid, solid-solid, solid-liquid or gas-liquid, gas-gas, or gas-solid. There are many specific techniques for chromatography, some of which will be described below, and all follow the same basic principles. All forms of chromatography involve a rapid and dynamic equilibrium of molecules between the two phases, either free " mobile - or absorbed " stationary. Molecules will constantly move back and forth between the free and absorbed states, with millions of molecules absorbing and desorbing every second. The equilibrium between these states depends on three factors: the polarity and size of the molecule, the polarity of the stationary phase, and the polarity of the solvent. Thus, three different variables can be changed in chromatography, which can change the equilibrium between the stationary and mobile phases: this allows one to choose mobile and stationary phases that will separate just about any combination of compounds."

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