Natural Products

Recommended Prerequisites

For a better understanding of “Produtos de origem Natural” the students need to have a good back ground in Biology and Chemistry

Teaching Methods

Lectures with a strong component of dialogue and application in practical cases, essentially using the audiovisual media ("data show")

The evaluation of this curricular unit includes 2 tests (continuous evaluation) according to that defined by the teaching team.

Learning Outcomes

With this course we intend to achieve the skills and the following objectives:

- Recognize the importance of natural products in drug discovery.

- Check knowledge about medicinal plants and their active metabolites, ranging from vegetal biology, chemotaxonomy and ethnopharmacology up to  phytochemical characterization

-  Check knowledge on emerging issues about  herbal health products, including production technologies, evaluation and quality control.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The importance of natural products as a therapeutic resource. Criteria and methods of selection of raw materials:  ethnopharmacology

Principles of Ethnopharmacology, examples of therapeutic success.

Biology and chemistry of natural products: recognition of powdered drugs; primary and secondary metabolites. Emphasis on the following aspects: biosynthesis, structural characterization, pharmacological activity and mechanisms of action, main natural sources and therapeutic applications.

Herbal medicinal products; regulatory aspects.

Head Lecturer(s)

Lígia Maria Ribeiro Pires Salgueiro da Silva Couto

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Frequency: 100.0%

Bibliography

-Proença da Cunha e tal, 2009 Farmacognosia e Fitoquímica, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

- Tavares AC, Zuzarte M., Salgueiro L. , 2009 Plantas aromáticas e Medicinais-Escola Médica do Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Coimbra. Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.

- Farmacopeia Portuguesa VIII Ed. Instituto Nacional da Farmácia e do Medicamento.

- Samuelson G.,  Drugs of Natural Origin – A Textbook of Pharmacognosy. Ed. Swedish Pharmaceutical Press. Sweden

- Simões, C.M.O. et al. (2003) Farmacognosia – da planta ao medicamento.

 - Proença da Cunha, A. et al. (2012) Plantas e Produtos Vegetais em Fitoterapia. Ed. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa.

- Mukherjee, P.K. (2002) Quality Control Herbal Drugs – An approach to evaluation of botanicals.

Artigos facultados pelos docentes