Herbal Drug Discovery Against Inflammation: From Traditional Wisdom to Modern Therapeutics
Amit Baran Sharangi, K. V. Peter in Medicinal Plants, 2023
Secondary metabolites are low molecular weight organic compounds produced in plants. The biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is restricted to the selected plant groups and is exhibiting a huge structural diversity. These secondary metabolites which are generally used for the self-defense of plants attracted natural products researchers around the globe. The structures provided a number of pharmacophores compatible with the receptor molecules in the body. A large number of secondary metabolites also qualify the criterion of Lipinski rule to be considered as a drug. As a result, a number of blockbuster molecules provided by the plants as well as the marine source in the area of drug discovery. These compounds are mainly classified as flavonoids, terpenes, glycosides, steroids, and alkaloids. In recent trends, these molecules correspond to valuable contribution in pharmaceutics, cosmetics, and fine chemicals and more recently in nutraceuticals as well (Pichersky and Gang, 2000). We summarized a small understanding of these beautiful defensive compounds in the plant kingdom. Natural products obtained from the plants are summarized in Table 3.2.
Vitamin, Mineral, Antioxidant, and Herbal Supplements: Facts and Fictions
José León-Carrión, Margaret J. Giannini in Behavioral Neurology in the Elderly, 2001
With the exception of vitamin B12, which is factory biosynthesized, vitamin supplements currently produced in the United States are factory chemically synthesized, whereas some of those produced in Europe are biosynthesized.71 Chemical synthesis produces racemic (D,L) product (i.e., two mirror-image molecules, facing each other), one of which is natural (i.e., the form found in bacteria and plants, and the nutrient in humans), and the other of which is synthetic, not found in nature, and may have harmful properties.34,34a,71 Representing racemic vitamins, amino acids, and sugars as “natural” is false advertising. Biosynthesis is carried out by fermentation, using live microorganisms or their enzymes, and produces only the natural form, which is the D-form for vitamins and sugars, and the l-form for amino acids.
On Biocatalysis as Resourceful Methodology for Complex Syntheses: Selective Catalysis, Cascades and Biosynthesis
Peter Grunwald in Pharmaceutical Biocatalysis, 2019
In this chapter, we want to illustrate various modes of utilizing biocatalysis including biosynthesis, which can be applied for the production of pharmaceuticals or other high value products. We will start with simple single-step conversions, which might be carried-out by isolated enzymes but also by living, starving, or dead—permeabilized—cells (see Fig. 21.2). More complex processes are multi-step conversions combining various steps, which do not necessarily need to be biocatalysts but also chemical catalysts or even uncatalyzed chemical steps in combination. Although the processes might be more complex in terms of optimizing the individual rates of each step as well as finding compatible reaction conditions for all reactants, the main advantage of multi-step conversions is the reduction of downstream processing operations, which tends to be the most time-consuming and expensive part of a process. The most complex type of biocatalysis is biosynthesis. The biocatalyst is here a living being—an organism, a cell. Thus, it could be considered as the perfect situation for the employed enzymes: perfect environment, cofactor-supply, (re-)folding assistance, and a continuous regeneration of the biosynthesis machinery. But also, biosynthesis has to cope with some drawbacks like transport limitations, toxic intermediates, and product metabolization. Nevertheless, biocatalysis offers a wide range of methods for the selective formation of complex molecules, which reduces the overall number of steps and makes such syntheses more effective. This chapter will lay a focus on the biosynthetic methods and will only highlight the principal ideas from single-step conversions to cascade reactions.
Methods in marine natural product drug discovery: what’s new?
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 2023
Jehad Almaliti, William H. Gerwick
The recent successes in bringing marine derived drugs to the clinic combined with the influx of new techniques and fresh approaches to marine drug discovery bode well for the future. However, these new methodologies increasingly rely on large quantities of good quality data that is available in formats that are interoperable between different software platforms and tools. Developments to improve data archiving and access will likely require significant governmental support and encouragement. Further developments along these lines will improve data integration and foster more powerful and accurate tools using artificial intelligence (AI). The genomic revolution has revealed the enormous biosynthetic ‘dark matter’ of microbial genomes, that is, biosynthetic gene clusters for metabolites not expressed under normal conditions of culture. Improved platforms and understanding of the regulation of natural products biosynthesis will increasingly provide access to this biosynthetic potential.
Bioidentical hormones
Published in Climacteric, 2021
F. Z. Stanczyk, H. Matharu, S. A. Winer
Class B steroids are also found in nature but require chemical synthesis for use as therapeutic agents. For example, E2, progesterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), which are widely used for postmenopausal HT, cannot be obtained from a natural source to be used therapeutically. Instead, they are synthesized chemically, primarily from a natural base material, most commonly from a plant source such as the Mexican yam and soybean. These plants contain steroids such as diosgenin and stigmasterol, which are used as precursors for the synthesis of a variety of steroids. Multiple chemical reactions in the laboratory (at least 15) are required to alter the base and obtain the desired steroid. Because the precursors used in this chemical process are obtained from a natural source, the process is considered biosynthetic.
Green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles using pectin as a reducing agent: a systematic review of the biological activities
Published in Pharmaceutical Biology, 2021
Kogilavanee Devasvaran, Vuanghao Lim
Although these metals have often been studied, the synthesis of MNPs with toxic or hazardous chemicals reduces the metal’s biocompatibility, effectivity, and safety in living beings (Das et al. 2017). Biosynthesis (living materials) is a method used to rapidly synthesise nanoparticles in an eco-friendly, non-toxic manner with the ability to control the size of the nanoparticle (Ghozali et al. 2015). Pectin is an ideal reducing agent soluble in water and abundant in many plant sources (Rana et al. 2019). Numerous bioactivities of this heteropolysaccharide have been reported, including anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic, immunoregulatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antitumor activities (Minzanova et al. 2018), which has led us to believe that the use of Pe-MNPs is advantageous in the biological field.
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