COURSE FOCUS

THE STAR, TUESDAY 23 AUGUST 2022

Sustainable and efficient

DRUG research has evolved over
the years. Apart from the many
changes and breakthroughs in
the process of drug discovery,
emphasis is now placed on
sustainability. More efficient and
lower cost routes in synthesising that are highly virulent with at our disposal. Biologically useful School of Chemistry at Monash

compounds for therapeutic
purposes are desired to integrate
sustainability in pharmaceutical
research and development.
“Retooling
growing multidrug resistance, such
as the ESKAPE pathogens that have
cocoa waste created a significant health burden
globally. Cocoa shell waste is
compounds harvested from cocoa
waste include caffeine, theobromine
and catechin.
“The first step is to identify the
University. It also involves external
partners such as the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences (LIPI) and the
Malaysian Cocoa Board.

Botanicals have been used as is an obvious estimated at 52–76% of the cocoa

medicines for centuries either in
their original form, as extracts or
partly purified natural products.
Many drugs have been inspired
by nature such as aspirin.
However, plant-powered drug
discovery has taken a back seat
when pure synthetic compounds
could be designed, generated
and screened easily with
advances such as combinatorial
fruit. A ton of dry cocoa beans
compounds we want to work with.
The subsequent challenge is to find
The project is relevant to the
United Nations Sustainable
choice as produced generates approximately
ten tons of cocoa shell waste, which
strategies to synthesise biologically
active novel compounds using
Development Goal 3 (Good Health
and Wellbeing).
Malaysia ranks generally remains underexploited.
Retooling cocoa waste is an
environmentally friendlier ways,”
Dr Yeong says.
Malaysia and the Asean region
are among the largest producers of
among the obvious choice as Malaysia ranks
among the top cocoa-producing
This multidisciplinary project
derives expertise from the School of
agricultural products. This opens
the exciting possibilities to engage
top cocoa- countries in the world. Thus, we
have an abundance of cocoa waste
Science and School of Pharmacy at
Monash University Malaysia, and the
these countries as crucial players in
drug discovery and development.
producing
countries in

the world.
chemistry, high throughput
screening (HTS), computational

modelling, and artificial
intelligence (AI) technologies.
But the interest in studying
plants in drug discovery has
been renewed now that
researchers have started
appreciating them
in different ways.
Dr Yeong Keng Yoon from the
School of Science, Monash
University Malaysia, states that
we could view plants as factories
for chemical feedstocks.
“Plants with no available or
limited commercial value; food
waste, and by-products from
processes can be recycled to
produce functional materials
and chemicals in drug discovery
and development. Inedible waste
material presents clear
environmental and financial
advantages over natural
products derived from crops
grown for that purpose,” Dr
Yeong says.
Due to their nature, naturally
occurring plant fragments have
unique three-dimensional (3D)
properties, high fraction of sp3
carbon atoms (Fsp3), low
aromaticity, and large chemo-
diversities, which represent good
opportunities for developing
novel drugs.
He adds that although
numerous waste products from
natural sources have been
investigated for bioactivities,
their potential as a precursor of
drugs has been relatively under-
explored. Many naturally
sourced materials lack a clear
advantage over synthetic drugs
in potency and bioavailability.
“However, these materials
could be fine-tuned to be used as
an initial template for drug
discovery, where the common
disadvantages associated with
Biologically
useful
compounds
harvested
from cocoa
waste include
caffeine,
theobromine
and catechin.”
a “pure” natural product-based
drug could potentially be
addressed. Economy-wise, it will
also be great if we can turn
these natural wastes into high-
value products.
“One of my currently funded
projects explores the feasibility
of using cocoa bean shell waste
as a sustainable, low-cost
starting material for developing
novel antimicrobial agents.
Antimicrobial resistance is one
of the biggest threats to global
health.
“The control of antimicrobial
resistance, which is a World
Health Organization (WHO)
goal, would be a significant step
to reduce the overall healthcare
burden. Lowering the costs of
therapy by developing new
drugs based on inexpensive
resources is thus a practical
approach to be pursued,” Dr
Yeong shares.
The project target pathogens

Dr Yeong explains
that food waste and
by-products from
processes can be
recycled to produce
functional materials
and chemicals in drug
discovery and
development.