BOT 380- drug plants: midterm 1

what is a drug?

a substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a disease or as a component of a medication.

-synthetic or non-synthetic biological substance usually synthesized outside of the organism that produces effects or alters bodily functions

what are common uses for drugs

therapeutics, and recreation/illegal purposes

what are toxins often defined as

poisons of biological origins

what is pharmacology?

the study of drugs including their origin, chemistry, nature, effects and mechanisms of action

what is an active ingredient?

substance in a drug that is pharmacologically active

what are effects of drugs often caused by?

their interaction with cellular molecules called receptors

how do drugs interact with receptors

receptors detect the drug molecules which often mimic molecules naturally occuring in the body and will bind with them

what structural elements are relevant to the ability of drugs to act at receptors

drug size, atomic compositions, charge, and shape

pharmacodynamics

the action of a drug on the body through its receptor interactions- biochemical and physiological effects of drugs

pharmacokinetics

the action of the body on a drug

-absorbtion, distribution, and elimination

why is dosage relavent to pharmacokinetics

because it may cause therapeutic or toxic effects

what parts of plants are used for drugs

leafs, flowers, stem and roots

what are a lot of compounds used in drugs produced for in plants

defense mechanisms of plants

why do roots of plants produce lots of compounds used for drugs

because they interact with many microbiota

how do humans use plant compounds

-ritualistic, religious, or magical use

-medicinal use

-toxic or poisonous use

-recreation

what was prepared from the solanaceae family (nightshades) in the middle ages?

potions, by witched

what are examples of active compounds in plants in the solanaceae family

atropine and scopolamine

what effects do the plants from the salanaceae family have

they have hallucenogenic, toxic, and medicinal uses for humans

-ex atropa belladona- atropine

what might have the concept of witches flying on broomsticks resulted from

a drug induced hallucinatory experience

what may caused witches to believe they were flying

they would rub lipid soluble plant potions on their legs

what is the medicinal use of willow species

properties of the bark contain salycin- which leads to salicylic acid

-history of treating gout, rheumatism, toothache, and earache

who was the historical use of willow recorded by

Dioscorides in De Materia Medica

what is the active ingredient in willow?

salicin: a glycoside compound that is broken down into salicylic acid when ingested

what is the synthetic version of salicylic acid know as?

aspirin

what is caffiene primarily associated with

coffea arabica

what poison was socrates killed by

Conium maculatum (poison hemlock)

what is the active ingredient in poison hemlock

coniine- an alkaloid

what are many of the deadly compounds found in plants chemically classified as?

alkaloids

what poison do castor beans produce

ricin

why is lectin considered more of a protein that metabolite?

because it contains a carbon binding protein called lectin

what are castor plants commonly planted for

ornamental purposes

why are castor oil derivatives able to be used in soaps, paints, pharmaceuticals etc.

ricin can be removed

what is a plant oil that us an approved FDA over the counter laxitive

castor oil

what are some of the effects of many household plants

mild stomache ache, skin rash, throat swelling, organ failure, death

what did carl lineus discover

develops a system of binomial nomenclature to name living organisms

what phylum does ginkgo belong to

phylum ginkgophyta

what phylum does cycas belong to

phylum cycadophyta

what phylum does ephedra belong to, and what is it

phylum gnetophyta- it is a stimulant commonly used by indeginous populations

what is one of the worlds oldest economic plants

canabis sativa

whats the difference between marajuana and hemp

hemp is polinated, marajuana is the unpollinated female flower

what is cannabis the source of

the psychoactive drug cannabinoid D9-tetrahydrocannabinal (THC)

why was a whole class of synthetic cannabinoids developed

-people wanted to find a molecule that activates the CB1 receptor without the hallucenogenic effects

-research purposes because of legal restrictions

what does the treatment of pain without inducing tolerance or withdrawl using synthetic cannabinoids suggests

suggets that cannabinoid receptors could be a viable target for development of pain-management drugs that avoid adverse effects of cannibis use however synthetic cannabinoids are incredibly dangerous

what sets plants cells apart from animal cells?

cell wall and chloroplasts

what is the function of a cell wall

protection and structure

• encases plant cells

• creates complexity in cell communication

• essential for colonization of land plants- helps with vertical structures

what is the function of chloroplasts

energy production and carbon assimilation

what are organs comprised of in plants

different tissue types

what is dermal tissue in plants

outer covering modified for protection and water absorbtion

• very structured

• ex trichomes

what are trichomes

types of dermal cells that grow out of epidermis on leaves that secrete secondary compounds

• small hairs

• store defense compounds

• can be triggered to release volatiles

what is vascular tissue in plants

provides long distance transport of material within the plant

• xylem: water and dissolved materials in the water

• phloem: sugar

what is ground tissue in plants

between dermal and vasculafr tissues

• within the vascular tissues forms pith

• external to vascular tissue forms cortex

• buffering tissue

how are active compounds transported in plants

by vascular systems- xylem and phloem

what is movement in the phloem known as

translocation- from source (site of synthesis) to sink tissues (where they are needed)

what is movement in xylem called

transpiration: uses stomata to uptake co2 and release o2

• creates vacuum scenerio to move water upward

• can dehydrate themselves to move water

what does xylem move and where does it move it?

moves water and dissolved minerals from roots to shoots

what greek word is xylem derived from

greek word for wood

what is xylem comprised of

mostly dead cells forming highly lignified tissue

• tracheids

• vessel elements

what are tracheids

small holes- xylem, allows for increased pressure to move water upwards

what are vessel elements

larger holes in xylem allows for more horizontal transfewr

what prevents cells from collapsing from high water tension in xylem

primary and secondary cell walls that are harden with lignin reinforces cell structure

what is phloem comprised

live cells has no organelles

• seive tubes

• plasmodemata

what are seive tubes

live cells in phloem, chains of seive-tube members

• lack organelles

• connected at ends by seive plates through which fluid moves

• important for vertical transport of photosynthates

what are plasmodemata?

connect nearby companion cells to seive tube cells- horizontal movement

anabolize?

create molecules

catabolize?

break down molecules

which cellular biological molecules are most likely to be fuels

carbohydrates, lipids, and sometimes proteins

what is a biochemical pathway?

used to anabolize and catabolize cellular biological compoubds through a series of enzymes converting one product into another.

how where radioisitopes used to study metabolic pathways

used to label precursors- follow radioactivity to identify sequence products

how where plant cell cultures used to study metabolic pathways

used to them to produce pathway enzymes- provides abundant material to isolate purify and characterize enzymes

how are molecular techniques used to study metabolic pathways

used to isolate, characterize, and manipulate genes encoding biosynthetic enzymes

what is hairy root culture used for

it is used to exclusively grow roots and used to understand what type of compounds are being produced-important for medicinal plant

what is VIGS

virus induced gene silencing: uses plants own defense machinary to silence genes of interest

• ideal for non-model organisms

• has been used to see how metabolism re-arranges without the production of GOI

• activated by a virus vector TRV1 to transform agrobacterium

what do primary metabolic pathways create

pathways that create molecules that are essential for life

• used in normal cell functioning

• in general these compounds are not toxic to predators

what do secondary metabolic pathways create

molecules that are not required for the general functioning of the organism

what are secondary metabolites typically used for in plants

defense

what are often the compounds of medicinal interest that are produced by plants

secondary metabolites

what primary carbohydrate is used for energy store short and long-term

starch

what primary carbohydrate is used for structural integrity

cellulose

what primary carbohdrates are often used