natural+products

Natural products chemistry is a field of study that focuses on finding compounds in nature that can be beneficial to society and that are not man-made.

Natural products can come from anything, or from anywhere. Here are some examples.


 * Aspirin**

Willow bark has been a remedy for pain since ancient times. In ancient Greece, a philosopher named Hippocrates (writer of the Hippocratic Oath that doctors abide by today) wrote about the use of it as a medicine; Native Americans used it often as well. Willow bark contains salicin, a chemical precursor to salicylic acid.

Salicylic acid has anti-inflammatory properties when taken internally. Eventually, this chemical was modified to make it safer to consume, and sold under the name Aspirin by the Bayer corporation. Today it is known as acetylsalicylic acid, a popular non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID).



Another relative to salicylic acid is methyl salicylate, better known as oil of wintergreen. This too has anti-inflammatory properties when ingested.

This compound can be found in wintergreen (otherwise known as teaberry) and sweet (or black) birch bark. It has been used as a natural flavor in teas, chewing gum, birch beer, and ice cream. It was popular with Native Americans, and with soliders of the American Revolution.




 * Quinine**

Quinine is an anti-malarial compound that is in tonic water. Originally, this compound was found and extracted from the [|cinchona] tree. Later it was synthesized in laboratories to prevent the mass harvesting of the cinchona tree, but the lab synthesis cannot compete with the natural extraction of the compound. Visit the link to cinchona to learn more about its history.

The quinine molecule has claims to many medicinal properties. These include treatment and prevention of malaria, a muscle relaxer, fever reducer, and anti-inflammatory (pain killer).

The common [|plantain], which most everyone can find in their lawn as a weed, has medicinal properties as well. These plants contain [|allantoin], which has been shown to promote skin moisturizing, wound healing, and to have anti-irritant properties.



Plantain acts as a coagulant, which is why it is so effective as a wound healing agent - it will cause blood to clot. This is most likely why plantain is also called "soldier's herb", for it was most likely used in dressing wounds on the battlefield. It is a non-native plant to North America, most likely brought over from Europe by settlers. The Native Americans refer to this plant as "Englishman's Foot".

The active ingredient allantoin is now synthesized industrially and used in cosmetics, toothpastes, and other herbal remedies.

The sassafras tree can be found extensively throughout northwestern Pennsylvania. Its root bark can be dried and boiled to produce sassafras tea, which has been used as flavoring in root beers and licorice.



The compound safrole is what gives this plant its unique flavor.

This compound has been extracted and studied in the laboratory. Unfortunately, safrole has been shown to have cancer-causing potential (carcinogenic), in lab rats, and this natural product has been banned by the US FDA for use as a flavoring agent. Artificial sassafras flavoring is available, but of course it does not quite taste the same.

Another common plant in this region is jewel weed, or touch-me-not. These plants' seed capsules will burst when touched.



The aloe-like extract from jewel weed is an effective remedy for poison ivy and insect stings or bites. Despite these properties, no recent research has been done to identify what compound(s) might be present in this plant.

This is just one of many natural remedies that have not been investigated for medicinal natural products.

The white (or paper) birch tree's bark contains a chemical called betulinic acid, which has recently been put on the fast track to development in the fight against melanoma skin cancer.

The compound, betulinic acid, is very difficult to find in large quantities, and is not very soluble in water, so more research must be done to transform it into a powerful anticancer drug.



Here is a short list of some other natural products and their uses:
 * [|taxol], used to fight cancer
 * [|vancomycin], an antibiotic
 * [|morphine], a strong painkiller
 * [|caffeine], a stimulant
 * [|penicillin], an antibiotic
 * shikimic acid, a precursor to Tamiflu