Q. Which drugs are extracted from plants and trees? How can these be developed with the help of a computer? (46 BPSC/2005)

Q. Which drugs are extracted from plants and trees? How can these be developed with the help of a computer? (46 BPSC/2005)

Ans: Most of the drugs we use today came from plants originally. Plant chemicals (phytochemicals) are responsible for some of the most important medical advancements of our time.
Some examples include:

• Antibiotics
• Chemotherapy
• Pain management
• hallucinogenic

Here are some of the most common drugs that were derived from, or inspired by compounds found in plants.

• Aspirin:
  • Aspirin is a popular treatment for pain, inflammation, and fever. It works by inhibiting an enzyme known as cyclooxygenase (COX).
  • Aspirin is modelled after the naturally occurring polyphenol salicylic acid — a compound found in a handful of plants including white willow, wintergreens, and birch.
  • All of these plants were traditionally used for conditions involving injury, pain, and inflammation.
• Quinine:
  • Quinine is used as a malaria and babesiosis medication. It remains one of the primary treatments for malaria to this day under the brand name Quinalaquin, and the generic name Quinine.
  • It’s an alkaloid taken from the Cinchona tree from South America. It was a popular herb used by the local Quechua tribes of the Amazon rainforest.
  • Although the drug can be synthesised, the most economically viable method of production is to extract it from the cinchona tree.
• Opiates:
  • Opiates are a class of chemicals that target the opioid receptors in the human body that regulate pain and temperature control.
  • These are alkaloids were discovered from the Opium poppy.
• Myriocin:
  • It is an antibiotic and immunosuppressant derived from the sterile fungus.
  • It is used to treat autoimmune conditions.
• Penicillin:
  • Penicillin was the very first class of antibiotics ever discovered.
• Digoxin:
  • It is a heart medication used for heart failure.
  • It was isolated from the foxglove plant.
  • The use of digoxin changed how we treated cardiovascular disease for many years, but has since fallen out of favour due to some of its more dangerous side effects.
• Taxol:
  • It is a chemotherapeutic agent derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew.
• In Northeast, 68 herbs have been recorded treating malaria and about 88 for treating jaundice.
• Ladakh’s ‘solo‘ herb:
  • the plant is a sanjeevani for people living in high altitudes and security personnel deployed in snow clad areas. It maintains the body’s immune system in areas with low oxygen.
• Others: Ginger, turmeric, Ashwagandha,Aloe vera etc.

Using computer for drug development:

• Drug design through computer is very effective technique in modern arena.
• Computer Aided Drug Design (CADD) technologies are used in nanotechnology, molecular biology, biochemistry etc.
  • The main benefit of the CADD is cost effective in research and development of drugs. There are wide ranges of software are used in CADD.
• Computer aided drug design is applicable in Cancer disease, transportation of drug to specific site in body, data collections and storages of organics and biologicals.
• Computers Can Identify Compounds and Make Predictions for Their Use. It can also predict the adverse side effects.
• Computer is used in bio-technology for DNA simulation, genome sequencing etc.
• Computers in pharmacy are used for the information of drug data, records and files, drug management.