At the end of this course, the student should know the general strategy, and the main steps used to discover pharmacologically interesting natural products. It may be crude extracts or pure compounds that can be used without modification or which can constitute models for the synthesis or hemisynthesis of new drugs with new structures or original modes of action.
He should be able to give an advice on the opportunity of using a crude extract or purified compounds from chemical, pharmacological and, when available, clinical data.
He should be able to propose an adequate method for the extraction of interesting molecules from natural sources and know the main features of natural products analysis.
Main themes
Strategies used for the research of potentially active molecules from natural origin which may be used unchanged or constitute leads for the synthesis or hemisynthesis of drugs.
Extraction procedures and preparation of crude extracts.
Quality control.