Going back to Nature:

Importance and Potential of

Natural Products in
Drug Discovery

John Daniel Magsalin

ATOM Master Class | PSHS | Oct 28 2016
Synthetic synthesis of drugs

What are natural products

Why do Nat Prod Research

How to do Nat Prod

(Lock-Key Model)

How to do Nat Prod

(Synergy Model)
A B

C D
Shellac
- from female Lac beetle
- used as glaze, colorant, edible coating
Musk Ambergris
- From deer and rats - Sperm Whale vomit
-external scent glands - 1.1kg ~ 11k
Natural what?

Any substance / compound created by a living

organism
o Animal
o Plant
o Fungi
o Bacteria
 Why do Nat Prod Research?

o Enormous structural and chemical diversity

(40% are not in synthetic-chem libraries)
o Evolutionarily-optimized
o Long and extensive history of use (Folk, Indian,
Chinese)

a small collection of smart compounds may be more

valuable than a much larger hodgepodge collection
mindlessly assembled (Danishefsky, 2002)
Where do drugs come from?

Nat
6%

Synth
Nat Dev 36%
28%

Synth-Nat NM Synth
16% 14%
Cragg & Newman, 2013
 How to do Nat Prod? Lock-Key

Isolation/
Identification Extraction Elucidation Derivatization
Purification
 Animal Nat Prod

Conantukin & Contulakin

(Olivera et al, 1990)

Selenoconotoxin
(Gowd et al. 2010)
Fungi / Bacteria Nat Prod

BOTOX (Botulinum toxin)

- Clostridium botulinum
- Used to control muscle spasms
Plant Nat Prod

Morphine Papaver somniferum

Analgesic Poppy
Plant Nat Prod

Cocaine Erythroxylum coca

Plant Nat Prod

Artemicinin Artemisia annua

Anti-malaria Wormwood
Plant Nat Prod
 How to do Nat Prod? Synergy

Identification of Creation of Plant

Identification Extraction
Markers extract Model
Synergy Model
Synergy Model

Sambong

Banaba

Tsaang Gubat

Lagundi

Ampalaya

Malunggay
 Synergy Model

Legend:
- training set; - submitted sample;
- commercial products; -
experimental set
 So what?

We are the 23rd most plant species rich country in the

world yet
we are loosing 3000 sq. km. of forest per year.