ASSIGNMENT ON

SOURCES OF DRUGS

SUBMITTED TO: Sir Shahid

SUBMITTED BY:
Hadiqa Khalil
Alia tabassum
Aroosh Rashid
Ayesha Saeed
Talha Saleem
Shahana zahid
ROLL NO: 1-6
COURSE TITLE: Medicinal biochemistry
LEVEL: M.Sc.

DEPARTMENT OF BIOCHEMISTRY
 BAHAUDDIN ZAKARIYA UNIVERSITY
MULTAN

Sources of drugs

What are drugs??

Introduction:
A drug is any substance(with the exception of food and water)which when taken in
the body, alters the body’s function either physically or psychologically.
“OR”
A drug is a chemical substance of known structure other than nutrient, which
when administered to a living organism ,produce a biological effect.
Drug sources:
Many drugs were discovered long ago by trial and error. Some were good and are
still used today. Following are the sources of drugs:

 Plants
 Micro organism
 Minerals

Plants:
A large number of drugs are used in the clinics for the cure of various ailments.
These drugs are diverse in chemical structure and are obtained from a wide variety
of sources in earlier days simple chemical substances and different parts of plants
were employed as medicinal agents.

Phytochemicals:
Plants contain certain chemicals which are known as phytochemicals (from Greek
phyto, meaning “plant”) are the chemicals produced by plants through primary or
secondary metabolism. Phytochemicals have been used as poison and in traditional
medicine.

Following types of phytochemicals are found in plants and are used in different
drugs

 Alkaloids
 Polyphenols
 Flavonoids
 Lignans
 Terpenes
 Saponins
 Xanthophyll’s
 Coumarins
 Tannins
 Carotenoids
 Thiols
 Sulfides

Alkaloids:
Alkaloids are a class of naturally occurring organic compounds that mostly contain
nitrogen. In addition to carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, alkaloids may also contain
oxygen, Sulphur and more rarely, other elements such as chlorine, bromine and
phosphorus.
Color of alkaloids:
Most alkaloids contain oxygen in their molecular structure; those compounds are
usually colorless crystals at ambient conditions. Oxygen-free alkaloids, such as
nicotine or coniine, are typically volatile, colorless, oily liquids. Some alkaloids are
colored, like berberine (yellow).

Uses of alkaloids:
Alkaloids have a wide range of pharmacological activities including

 Antimalarial (e.g. quinine)

 Antiasthma (e.g. Ephedrine)
 Vasodilatory (e.g. vincamine)
 Analgesic (e.g. morphine)

Sources of alkaloids:
Alkaloids are found mostly in solanaceae family
  Tomatoes
 Tomatillos
 Eggplant
 Potatoes
 Goji berries
 Tobacco
 Peppers(bell peppers, chili peppers, paprika)

Polyphenols:
The name polyphenols derives from the Ancient Greek word (polus, meaning
“many, much”) and the word phenol refers to a chemical structure formed by
attaching to an aromatic benzenoid (phenyl) ring, a hydroxyl (-OH) group akin to
that found in alcohols (hence the -ol suffix).

Polyphenols are a structural class of mainly natural but also synthetic or semi-
synthetic, organic chemicals characterized by the presence of large multiples of
phenol structural units.

Examples include tannic acid and ellagitannin.

 (structure of resveratrol)

Characteristics of polyphenols:
Colour:

Anthocyanins are major polyphenol pigments that largely determine the colors of
flowers and fruits. They can be orange, red, blue or purple in color.

Taste:

Bitterness is a major sensory attribute of several common foods and beverages rich
in polyphenol compounds. These compounds are reported as very important for
health as chemo preventive compounds, but they are also known to taste bitter.

Uses of polyphenols:
Epidemiological studies have repeatedly shown an inverse association between the
risk of chronic human diseases and the consumption of polyphenolic rich diet.
Polyphenols limit the risk of various degenerative diseases associated with
oxidative stress, and have various pharmacological effects such as:

 Cardio-protective effect
 Anti-cancer effect
 Anti-diabetic effect
 Anti-aging effect
 Neuro-protective effects
Sources of polyphenols:
Plant based foods
such as vegetables
and fruits tend
to be high in

polyphenols.

The most common sources of dietary polyphenols are:

 Fruits (oranges, grapes, apples peaches, plums, apricots etc.)

 Vegetables (spinach, onions, potatoes, black and green olives, carrots etc.)
 Whole grains (whole grain wheat, rye, and oat flours)
 Nuts, seeds, and legumes (roasted soybeans, black beans, white beans,
walnuts etc.)
 Beverages (coffee, tea, red wine)
 Fats (dark chocolate, olive oil)
 Spices and seasonings (cocoa powder, dried oregano, soy sauce, curry
powder, cumin, cinnamon etc.)
Saponins:
Saponins are glucosides with foaming characteristics. Saponins consist of a
polycyclic aglycones attached to one or more sugar side chains. The aglycone part,
which is also called sapogenin, is either steroid (C27) or a triterpene (C30). The
foaming ability of Saponins is caused by the combination of a hydrophobic (fat-
soluble) sapogenin and a hydrophilic (water-soluble) sugar part. Saponins have a
bitter taste.

Saponins derived from Latin word ‘sapo’ meaning soap as a soapy leather form
when plant containing saponins are agitated in water. Plant-derived steroidal
saponins have been used in the production of steroid hormones in pharmaceutical
industry.
Characteristics of saponins:
Saponins color ranges from brown ,dark brown , purple and blue. Saponins are
usually attached with glycoside molecules. They have bitter, acrid taste and
sternutatory (irritant to mucous membrane)

.Uses of Saponins:

There are number of health benefits of saponins containing food which are listed
below:

 Anti-inflammatory
 Anti-diabetic
 Anti-tumor
 Anti-oxidant activity
 Anti- allergic

Sources of Saponins:
Like polyphenols, saponins are present in many plant foods

 Beans and Legumes (Soybeans, chickpeas, kidney beans, navy beans and
haricot beans )
 Other Vegetables (garlic, asparagus, peas, spinach, onion, yucca)
 Grains and Pseudo-Grains ( oats, quinoa, amaranth)
 Red wine (saponins come from the coating on the skin of grapes)

Plants is not the only source of saponins they are also present in some marine
invertebrates (sea cucumber )

Terpenes:
● Terpenes are essential constituents of essential oils, having a chemical
structure consisting of repeated isoprene(C5H8) units. They are classified
 into monoterpenes(C10), sesquiterpenes(C15), diterpenes(C20) based on
whether they are made from two, three or four isoprene units.
● Originally the term terpenes was restricted to hydrocarbons ,it is now used to
include substituted derivatives too.
● Terpenes may contain a variety of functional groups. Many important
terpenes contain hydroxyl groups making them terpene alcohols. Others are
ketones. Terpenes oxides are terpenes having an oxygen containing ring
structure as well as the basic isoprenoid structure

(Alpha terpinene)
Colour of terpenes:
● Yellow color of sunflower and red color in tomatoes.

Uses of Terpenes:
● In the paper by Dr. Russo it was revealed that ‘terpenes could produce
synergy with respect to treatment of pain, inflammation, depression,
anxiety, addiction, epilepsy, cancer, fungal and bacterial infections.
● The anticancer drug" Taxol"
● Antimalarial drug "Artimesinin"
● Terpene toxicity medication “Benzodiazepines"
● Medical drugs from monocyclic terpenes: “Menthol" "Validol"
Sources of Terpenes:
● Terpenes are aromatic metabolites found in oils of all plants.
● The oils are secreted in the flowers sticky resin glands.
● Beta-caryophyllene , a sesquiterpene found in many plants such as cloves,
cinnamon leaves and black pepper.
● Lavender
● Myrcene is found in mango.
● Limonene is found in peppermint, rosemary and fruit rinds.
● B-Caryophyllene in cannabis.

Flavonoids:

Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids) (from the Latin word flavus meaning yellow, their
color in nature) are a class of plant and fungus secondary metabolites.
Chemically, flavonoids have the general structure of a 15-carbon skeleton, which
consists of two phenyl rings (A and B) and a heterocyclic ring (C). This carbon
structure can be abbreviated C6-C3-C6.
Characteristics of flavonoids:
Colour:
Flavonoids include red, purple, or blue anthocyanins, as well as white or pale
yellow compounds such as rutin, quercetin, and kaempferol. Anthocyanins play a
role in the colours of ripening fruit. They are found in most other plant parts and in
most genera.
Taste:
presence of heart-healthy flavonoids, which occur naturally in plant foods, does not
automatically increase bitterness. In fact, the study found that adding them during
food processing can actually promote good flavour in some food products.

Sources of flavonoids:
Medicinal plants are the major sources of natural compounds with various
beneficial properties such as anti-oxidative and antimicrobial activity. These
valuable properties largely depend on their polyphenolic compounds, mainly
flavonoids. These plants are now grown commercially and being used in curing
diseases, food flavorings and formulation of fragrances.
  Citrus fruits
 Citrus fruit juices
 Red wine
 Soy products
 Tree fruits
 Nuts and beans
 Vegetables
 Spices

Uses of Flavonoids:

 Dementia
 Hormone dependent cancer
 Hypertension
 Cardiovascular diseases
 Anti inflammation
 Combating neuro-generative diseases
 Anti microbial activity
 Anti mutagenic
 Anti carcinogenic
 Anti oxidants
 Anti allergic
 Antiviral

Inorganic Sources of drugs (minerals):

Drugs obtained from inorganic sources have been simply classified into metals and
non-metals. Metalloids which show intermediate properties are usually discussed
along with metals. The elements either occur in native state or combined state.

1. Metals: Minerals are the main source of metals.

Agent Use
Magnesium sulphate Purgative
Calcium carbonate Astringent
Bismuth sub nitrate Antiseptic
Lead acetate Local sedative, antiseptic

2. Non-metals: These are also used for various purposes.

Agent Use
(Pot. bromide) Sedative
Hydrogen peroxide Antiseptic
Sulphur Insecticide, disinfectant
Carbon (charcoal) Adsorbent

3. Microorganisms: Microorganisms are also an important source of drugs.

Certain bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes produce antibiotics which forms a major
group of therapeutically useful drugs.
Fungi: Penicillin G from Penicillium notatum.
Actinomycetes: Streptomycin from Streptomyces griseus
Bacteria: Bacitracin from Bacillus subtilus.