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use of margarine - Taxes - Regulations against sale; against use of dyes Wisconsin prohibited sale of colored margarine Repealed 1967; + heavy tax on uncolored (white) margarine (people would buy and mix their own coloring agent)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 - Highlights
2500 BC Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263

History - Highlights
2500 BC Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263 1770 BC Code of Hammurabi in Babylon mentions plants

History - Highlights
2500 BC Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263 1770 BC Code of Hammurabi in Babylon mentions plants

1550 BC Ebers papyrus in Egypt 700+ medicinal formulas

History - Highlights
2500 BC Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263 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

History - Highlights
2500 BC Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263 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

History - Highlights
2500 BC Sumerian use of opium poppy Fig. 11.2, p. 263 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

History Highlights II
1500 AD Age of herbalism, Paracelsus Doctrine of Signatures

History Highlights II
1500 AD Age of herbalism, Paracelsus Doctrine of Signatures 1775 AD Dr. William Withering Foxglove extracts

History Highlights II
1500 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 II
1500 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 II
1500 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 - Chemistry
Fig. 11.5, p. 271

Steroids - Chemistry
Fig. 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 Medicines

Fig. 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 - Hydnocarpus

Leprosy 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 = Jesuits Bark

Cinchona - bark of Peru; yellow bark About 40 species - Andean area of South America

Stolen by British, Dutch

Native

Grown

Salix - Aspirin
Hippocrates (Greece) used willow bark to treat pain

Salix - Aspirin
Hippocrates (Greece) used willow bark to treat pain 1897 Bayer Co. (Germany) Chemist synthesizes, names aspirin

Salix - Aspirin
Hippocrates (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

Fig. 11.22, p. 282

Effective drugs vs. lymphomas (Hodgkins disease)

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 effectiveness U.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