Thursday Lecture – Medicinal Plants

Reading: Textbook, Chapter 11

Margarine – made from fats

- originally from animal fats- white in color, so yellow dye added to create appearance of butter

Advantage: Stores better than butter

Dairy Industry – fought against use of margarine- Taxes- Regulations against sale; against use of dyes

Wisconsin – prohibited sale of colored margarine– Repealed 1967; + heavy tax on uncolored (white) margarine (people would buy and mix their own coloring agent)

Quiz

Quiz

1.Name two of the four major vegetable oil crops.

2.Name a medicinal plant, and tell what medicine is obtained from it and a disease it is used to treat

3.What does soap have to do with vegetable oil?

History - Highlights2500 BC – Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History - Highlights2500 BC – Sumerian use of opium poppy

1770 BC – Code of Hammurabi in Babylon – mentions plants

Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History - Highlights2500 BC – Sumerian use of opium poppy

1770 BC – Code of Hammurabi in Babylon – mentions plants

1550 BC – Ebers papyrus in Egypt – 700+ medicinal formulas

Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History - Highlights2500 BC – Sumerian use of opium poppy

1770 BC – Code of Hammurabi in Babylon – mentions plants

1550 BC – Ebers papyrus in Egypt – 700+ medicinal formulas

400 BC – Hippocrates (Greece) – “Father of Medicine”

300 BC – Theophrastus, Botanical Gardens in Athens

Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History - Highlights2500 BC – Sumerian use of opium poppy

1770 BC – Code of Hammurabi in Babylon – mentions plants

1550 BC – Ebers papyrus in Egypt – 700+ medicinal formulas

400 BC – Hippocrates (Greece) – “Father of Medicine”

300 BC – Theophrastus, Botanical Gardens in Athens

77 AD – Dioscorides, De Materia Medica

Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History - Highlights2500 BC – Sumerian use of opium poppy

1770 BC – Code of Hammurabi in Babylon – mentions plants

1550 BC – Ebers papyrus in Egypt – 700+ medicinal formulas

400 BC – Hippocrates (Greece) – “Father of Medicine”

300 BC – Theophrastus, Botanical Gardens in Athens

77 AD – Dioscorides, De Materia Medica

Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History – Highlights II1500 AD – Age of herbalism, Paracelsus – Doctrine of Signatures

History – Highlights II1500 AD – Age of herbalism, Paracelsus – Doctrine of Signatures

1775 AD – Dr. William Withering – Foxglove extracts

History – Highlights II1500 AD – Age of herbalism, Paracelsus – Doctrine of Signatures

1775 AD – Dr. William Withering – Foxglove extracts

1900 AD – Half of drugs in U.S. Pharmacopeia still derived directly from plants

History – Highlights II1500 AD – Age of herbalism, Paracelsus – Doctrine of Signatures

1775 AD – Dr. William Withering – Foxglove extracts

1900 AD – Half of drugs in U.S. Pharmacopeia still derived directly from plants

1900s – advent of “scientific medicine”

History – Highlights II1500 AD – Age of herbalism, Paracelsus – Doctrine of Signatures

1775 AD – Dr. William Withering – Foxglove extracts

1900 AD – Half of drugs in U.S. Pharmacopeia still derived directly from plants

1900s – advent of “scientific medicine”

2000 – Alternative medicine; concern for biodiversity

Plant-Derived Medicines

Major Classes of Compounds:

1. Steroids

Plant-Derived Medicines

Major Classes of Compounds:

1. Steroids

2. Alkaloids

Plant-Derived Medicines

Major Classes of Compounds:

1. Steroids

2. Alkaloids

Useful terms:

“Secondary Compound”

“Glycoside”

Steroids - ChemistryFig. 11.5, p. 271

Steroids - ChemistryFig. 11.5, p. 271

Steroids - Chemistry

Alkaloids - Chemistry

1. Organic compound, with N, usually in ring structure

Fig. 11.7, p. 272

Alkaloids - Chemistry

1. Organic compound, with N, usually in ring structure

2. Physiologically active on vertebrate nervous systems

Fig. 11.7, p. 272

Alkaloids - Chemistry

1. Organic compound, with N, usually in ring structure

2. Physiologically active on vertebrate nervous systems

Diverse class of compounds Fig. 11.7, p. 272

Alkaloids - Chemistry

1. Organic compound, with N, usually in ring structure

2. Physiologically active on vertebrate nervous systems

Diverse class of compounds Fig. 11.7, p. 272

Examples of Plant MedicinesFig. 11.12, p. 276

1900 – over half of drugs in U.S. Pharmacopeia from plants

2001 – about 25% of drugs in U.S. Pharmacopeia from plants, but many synthetic compounds are based on plant-produced structures, or start with plant materials

Anasthetics, analgesics, heart medicines, laxatives, muscle relaxants etc.

Chaulmoogra Oil - HydnocarpusLeprosy – bacterial disease, affects sensitive individuals

Chaulmoogra oil – first effective treatment

Active ingredient – seed oil

Now replaced with antibiotics

Fig. 11.8, p. 273

Malaria - Cinchona Fig. 11.9, p. 274

Malaria – caused by protozoan

Cinchona = “Jesuit’s Bark”

Cinchona - “bark of Peru”; ”yellow bark”

About 40 species - Andean area of South America

Native Grown

“Stolen” by British, Dutch

Salix - AspirinHippocrates (Greece) – used willow bark to treat pain

Salix - AspirinHippocrates (Greece) – used willow bark to treat pain

1897 – Bayer Co. (Germany) Chemist – synthesizes, names aspirin

Salix - AspirinHippocrates (Greece) – used willow bark to treat pain

1897 – Bayer Co. (Germany) Chemist – synthesizes, names aspirin

Dioscorea steroids

Wild Yam – convenient source for steroidal saponins which can be converted into synthetic hormones for use in contraceptives

Fig. 11.13, p. 277

Papaver Alkaloids Fig. 11.6, p. 279

Catharanthus – poster child for plant-derived medicines

Effective drugs vs. lymphomas (Hodgkin’s disease)

Fig. 11.22, p. 282

New Drug Development

average to develop a new drug in U.S. - $231 million/12 years

-> many not developed, if patent protection not available, or if market not assured

Comparison:

Germany - "reasonable certainty" of safety and effectivenessU.S. - "absolute proof"

-> some modern herbal preparations coming from Europe, sold as dietary supplements in U.S.

Examples: St. John's Wort, Echinacea, Gingko

Looking for new drugs - General parameters:

1 in 10,000 chemicals screened -> new drug product

Development of new drug in U.S. - 12 years/$231 million (average)

Many drugs/diseases - not pursued because of lack of profitability

Development of Phy 906 – Phytoceutica

Herbal medicine

Based on Chinese Traditional Medicine

Mixture of herbs: scutellaria (skullcap), glycyrrhiza (licorice), ziziphus (jujube), Paeonia (peony)

Application: treat nausea and pain associated with cancer chemotherapy regimes

Initial results: not only effective against side effects, but also appears to increase efficacy of chemotherapy for certain cancers

Problems in Development of Rain Forest Drugs

International Agreements

(1) Discovery

- by pharmaceutical companies

- preceded by traditional healers

Who discovered/Who should benefit financially?

(2) Ownership - seeds, genes, chemicals

cycle:

Gene poor country, has scientific expertise

-> Gene rich country, has genetic diversity but lacks science

-> development of chemical by gene poor country

-> now sell back to gene rich/economically poor country

Tuesday Lecture – Psychoactive and Poisonous Plants

Reading: Textbook, Chapter 12