Nature inspires new highly specific drugs and organic productsSeptember 03, 2008The best place to seek novel compounds for pharmaceutical drugs, alternative energy sources, and a host of industrial applications, is within natural systems that have evolved over millions of years. Scientists now realise that the precise molecular arrangements within natural pathways in organisms have been highly tuned for specific processes and provide both compounds that can be exploited directly and vital information over how to synthesise new products by mimicking biochemical processes. The bright future for research and development around such natural products was discussed recently at a conference organised by the European Science Foundaton (ESF), and the European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research (COST). "We found that natural products provide invaluable leads for drug discovery and opportunities to explore chemical and biological pathways, both of which are essential to advancing the life sciences," said the conference chair K.C. Nicolaou from the Scripps Research Institute in the US. Some of the products discussed at the conference were ready for preclinical development, having shown great potential for treating a range of infectious and metabolic diseases as well as cancers. Such products are creating excitement because they promise to combine more effective treatment with reduced side effects, as well exploiting clean non-toxic synthetic techniques. For example Maurizio Botta from the University of Sienna in Italy discussed the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of new compounds for tackling AIDS and HIV by inhibiting reverse transcriptase, the process by which this type of retrovirus virus hijacks the host cell's genetic machinery to replicate itself. Some of these compounds have already exhibited strong activity against the AIDS virus in the laboratory.
There were also a number of promising anti-bacterial agents presented at the conference, which is an important development given the growing resistance of some bacterial species to existing antibiotics and the growing problem posed by MRSA, the "super bug" that plagues many hospitals and nursing homes. Dionisios Vourloumis, research director at the state run Greek research centre NCSR Demokritos, explained how bacteria could be disabled by targeting the RNA binding molecules needed for their genes to be expressed. It is important to distinguish between the highly specific compounds being developed by researchers in natural products, and existing herbal remedies that often have dubious therapeutic value. "The difference from herbal medicine is that chemists are talking about pure active ingredients, precisely defined at the molecular level, as opposed to crude, multi-component mixtures of compounds contained in herbal medicines," said Nicolaou. Although, as Nicolaou emphasised, the main focus of the natural products field is on drug discovery and exploitation of biological pathways to treat disease, the synthetic processes involved also have great potential for developing novel products for a variety of industrial applications, particularly in the chemical industry. One active area of research lies in harnessing the reaction centres of photosynthesis to produce clean sustainable energy converted from the sun without using fossil fuels, just as plants do. This could either be done by engineering new types of plant or photosynthesising cyanobacteria, or mimicking these processes to synthesise artificial systems that perhaps are more convenient to deploy. The synthetic strategies developed to synthesize natural products also have great potential for green chemistry, involving manufacture of compounds for different applications using sustainable techniques that reduce or eliminate toxic by-products, for example in the paper manufacturing industry. The overall focus was in harnessing the tools of chemistry to develop new techniques for synthesising organic compounds for a variety of purposes, with improved efficiency and sustainability. The ESF-COST conference on Natural Products Chemistry, Biology and Medicine was held near Naples in Italy in May 2008. European Science Foundation | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Related Natural Products Current Events and Natural Products News Articles Leeds researchers reshape the future of drug discovery Scientists in Leeds have devised a new way to create the next generation of man-made molecules in a breakthrough that could revolutionise drug development. Discovering drugs, biofuels in tropical seas The National Institutes of Health has awarded $4 million to a group of Philippine and American scientists led by Oregon Health & Science University to aid in the discovery of new molecules and biofuels technology from marine mollusks for development in the Philippines. Atomic structure of the mammalian 'fatty acid factory' determined Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders. Researchers find cancer-inhibiting compound under the sea University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers have discovered a marine compound off the coast of Key Largo that inhibits cancer cell growth in laboratory tests, a finding they hope will fuel the development of new drugs to better battle the disease. Scientists set out to measure how we perceive naturalness Natural products are highly valued by consumers yet their properties have been difficult to reproduce fully in synthetic materials, placing a drain on our limited natural resources. Until now ... McGill researchers overcome chemotherapy resistance in the lab Researchers from McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have discovered a compound that reduces resistance to chemotherapy agents used to treat cancer. Their results were published in the June issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). Potential treatments from cryptic genes Big pharma gave up on soil bacteria as a source of antibiotics too soon, according to research published in the June issue of Microbiology. Scientists have been mining microbial genomes for new natural products that may have applications in the treatment of MRSA and cancer and have made some exciting discoveries. Oregano oil works as well as synthetic insecticides to tackle common beetle pest New research in the Society of Chemical Industry's Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that oregano oil works as well as synthetic insecticides to combat infestation by a common beetle, Rhizoppertha dominica, found in stored cereals. International health experts to enlist the public in war on African malaria Philanthropy just got easier and a lot more accessible to the public thanks to the social networking power of the Internet and a ground-breaking partnership between a young British entrepreneur, a global health think tank and an African medical research institute. Green tea helps beat superbugs Green tea can help beat superbugs according to Egyptian scientists speaking today (Monday 31 March 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting being held this week at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. More Natural Products Current Events and Natural Products News Articles |
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