lec 1, 2 & week 11

Question 1

Define pharmacognosy

Answer 1

study/ knowledge of crude drugs produced from natural sources.

Question 2

Define Ethnobotany

Answer 2

Observing traditional methods to get information about how they use their native plants.

Question 3

4 common pitfalls in quantitative and

qualitative interpretation of data of botanical extracts

Answer 3

1) Assuming that relative peak intensities in chromatogram represent relative con. In sample
2) Attempting to quantify analytes without reference standards or cheaply sourced standards
3) Assuming absence of constituent in data means absence of the compound in the sample.
4) Assuming confirmation with MS data

Question 4

Characteristic of ideal natural product for use in research studies

Answer 4

(1) Representative of what is commonly used by consumers (2) Authentic (species verified)
(3) Well-characterized
- Active constituents known
- Concentrations of active or marker metabolites have been characterized and comply with monograph
(4) Free of contamination and adulteration
(5) Sufficient material available to conduct in vitro and/or clinical studies
(6) Material consistent for duration of the trial -Shelf life (i.e. stability)
- Batch-to-batch reproducibility

Question 5

Selection of botanical natural products in research

Answer 5

1) Literature search
2) Obtain plant material and products
3) Authenticate
4) Check for adulterants and contaminants
5) Obtain isolate standards
6) Quantify compounds
7) Select “representative’ sample
8) Obtain sufficient materials for investigation

Question 6

Steps in synthetic production

Answer 6

1) Quantitative structure-activity relationship
2) Synthesis
3) bioassay
4) evaluation

Question 7

Steps in natural production

Answer 7

1) extraction
2) bioassay
2) Purification
3) identification
4) synthesis & QSAR
5) bioassay
6) further purification
7) evaluation