Natural Products

Recommended Prerequisites

Students should have a good back ground in Biology and Chemistry and demonstrate skills for the exercise of laboratory work, for the use of laboratory instruments, including optical microscopy and the underlying methodologies to extractive, separative and analytical procedures.

Teaching Methods

Teaching is based on the integration of master classes, laboratory practice and tutorial support.
Lectures with a strong component of dialogue and application in practical cases, essentially using the audiovisual media ("data show"). Laboratory classes with an active participation of the students, stimulating their critical thinking. A field trip take place at the Medical School of Coimbra Botanical Garden to have access to a vast collection of living plants with medicinal and/or aromatic properties.

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
- Develop reading skills and critical thinking.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The importance of natural products as a therapeutic resource. Criteria and methods of selection of raw materials: ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology and chemotaxonomy.
Principles of Ethnopharmacology, examples of therapeutic success.
Biology and chemistry of natural products: recognition of powdered drugs; know the major groups of naturally occurring substances with pharmacological activity. Emphasis on the following aspects: main natural sources, biosynthesis, structural characterization, pharmacological activity, therapeutic and industrial applications, quality control of drugs
Herbal medicinal products; regulatory aspects.

Head Lecturer(s)

Carlos Manuel Freire Cavaleiro

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

- Proença da Cunha (Coord), 2010, “Farmacognosia e Fitoquímica”, 3ª ed., Fundação
Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa, ISBN 972-31-1142-2
- Farmacopeia Portuguesa IX (2010). Ed. Instituto Nacional da Farmácia e do Medicamento
- Herbal Medicines for Human Use- EU Monographs. EuropeanMedicine Agency. (2015)
- Tavares AC, Zuzarte M., Salgueiro L. , 2010 Plantas aromáticas e medicinais-Escola Médica do Jardim Botânico da Universidade de Coimbra. Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.
- Samuelson G., (1999) Drugs of Natural Origin – A Textbook of Pharmacognosy. Ed. Swedish Pharmaceutical Press. Sweden.