Drugs of Natural Origin

Recommended Prerequisites

The recommended prerequisites include what is taught in the 1 st cycle courses in the area of Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Sciences, Biochemistry, Bioanalytical and Medical Sciences, and other courses considered appropriate by the Master Coordination Board.

Teaching Methods

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

With regard to continuous evaluation, it includes a diverse set of strategies and instruments namely, monographs, individual projects and teamwork, problem solving, cases studies; participate in discussions, research reports and tests.

Learning Outcomes

The program of the Course Unit "Drugs of Natural Origin" includes a set of multidisciplinary knowledge about plants and drugs of natural origin, ranging from plant biology to the phytochemical characterization of the active metabolites and demonstration of its biological activities with therapeutic potential.

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

- Recognize the importance of natural products in drug discovery.

- To help students to realize the importance of plants for health.

- Check knowledgeable about medicinal plants and their active metabolites, ranging from chemotaxonomy and ethnopharmacology up to different extraction processes, characterization and determination of phytochemical bioactive constituents using different methodologies, demonstration of biological activity, and quality control of medicinal plants and extracts.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

- Biology and chemistry of natural products: metabolites of therapeutic interest, belonging to the group of carbohydrates, lipids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, steroids, alkaloids. Emphasis on the following aspects: biosynthesis, structural characterization, pharmacological activity and mechanisms of action, main natural sources and therapeutic applications.

- The importance of medicinal plants as a therapeutic resource and as a source of drugs. Examples of therapeutic success. -Criteria and methods of selection of raw materials: ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology and chemotaxonomy.

-Extraction techniques, isolation and structural identification approach, with strategies that combine chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques.

-General procedures for bioactivity screening and evaluation of the structure/ activity. -Quality, safety, effectiveness in herbal health products.

Head Lecturer(s)

Lígia Maria Ribeiro Pires Salgueiro da Silva Couto

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Summative final : 50.0%
Continuous evaluation: 50.0%

Bibliography

-Bruneton, J. Pharmacognosie. Phytochimie. Plantes Médicinales, 3ª ed. Technique Documentation, Paris, 1999.

- Mukherjee, P. Quality Control of Herbal Drugs. Apothecaries, New Delhi, 2002.

- Proença da Cunha, A. et al. Farmacognosia e Fitoquímica. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa, 2010.

- Proença da Cunha A, Roque O. Plantas Medicinais da Farmacopeia Portuguesa, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisboa 2008.

- Samuelsson, G. Drugs of Natural Origin. 4th ed. Apotekarsocieteten, 1999.

- Simões CMO et al.,. Farmacognosia – da planta ao medicamento, 5ª ed., Editora da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 2003.

Several scientific articles on medicinal plants and bioactive metabolites