KE513: Natural Product Chemistry and Pharmacognosy (5 ECTS)

STADS: 10001401

Level
Bachelor course

Teaching period
The course is offered in the spring semester.
4th quarter (spring semester).

Teacher responsible
Email: ebp@ifk.sdu.dk

Additional teachers
larsp.christensen@agrsci.dk

Timetable
Show entire timetable
Show personal time table for this course.

Prerequisites:
None

Academic preconditions:
Organic chemistry A (KO02) is presupposed known.

Course introduction
The purpose of the course is to provide the participants with fundamental knowledge of natural product chemistry including the distribution and biosynthesis of natural products and their function within biological systems, as well as knowledge of drugs, drug extracts and bioactive natural products used for production of medicine and herbal remedies.

Qualifications
Secondary metabolites are natural products that are characterised with a limited distribution. Secondary metabolites isolated from plants constitute an important part of many drugs, and have been used as model compounds for the development of new drugs or as start materials for semi-synthetic drugs. In addition preparations made from a plant or plants constitute an important part of many herbal remedies. Plants are still an important resource for the discovery of new bioactive natural products that could lead to the development of new drugs. Furthermore, secondary metabolites play an important role in nature as defence and signalling compounds. After passing through the course the participants are expected:

• To have obtained fundamental knowledge on the grouping of secondary metabolites, their biosynthesis and distribution in plants.
• To have obtained fundamental knowledge on the properties and structural/activity relationship of bioactive natural products as well as knowledge about the effect and possible mode of actions of well-known herbal remedies and their bioactive constituents.
• To be able to make a classification of secondary metabolites according to their chemical structure and to indicate their possible biosynthesis.
• To have knowledge upon the extraction, isolation and characterisation of bioactive compounds and other natural products from plants.

Expected learning outcome


Subject overview
1. Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites: The acetate/polyketide pathway, the mevalonate and deoxyxylulose phosphate pathway, the shikimate pathway and the biosynthesis of alkaloids.
2. Distribution of secondary metabolites in plants, including chemotaxonomy.
3. Biological activity of secondary metabolites their effect, mode of action and function in biological systems, including secondary metabolites isolated from medicinal plants and used as drugs, model compounds for the development of new drugs or as start materials for semi-synthetic drugs.
4. Methods for the isolation of bioactive natural products by for example assay- and bioassay-guided chromatographic fractionation.

Literature

• Dewick, P.M. : Medicinal Natural Products. A Biosynthetic Approach, John Wiley & Sons, 2001.
• Scientific articles and selected chapters from books on specific subjects within natural product chemistry and pharmacognosy.
• Notes prepared by the external teacher.

Website
This course uses e-learn (blackboard).

Prerequisites for participating in the exam
None

Assessment and marking:
Approval of major term paper. Passed/not passed. Internal evaluation by the teacher.

Expected working hours
The teaching method is based on three phase model.

Forelæsninger (32 timer). Eksaminatorier inkl. studenterforedrag (18 timer).
Educational activities

Language
No recorded information about the language used in the course.

Course enrollment
See deadline of enrolment.

Tuition fees for single courses
See fees for single courses.