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May 13-14, 2019 | Prague, Czech Republic
Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry
9th World Congress on
Asian Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences | Volume 9 ISSN: 2249-622X
Bioactive Natural Products
Severina Pacifico
University of Campania, Italy
P lants biosynthesize small organic compounds, known
as secondary metabolites, which are an integral
part of the plant’s developmental program as they are
involved in complex biotic and abiotic interactions, acting
as signal, defense or protectant compounds. Several of
these naturally occurring substances, broadly recognized
to exert pharmacological or toxicological effects in humans
and animals, are still the main source of lead molecules
in modern drug discovery and development, and make
the natural products research an endless and intriguing
research field with multidisciplinary approach.
Nowadays, the research for secondary metabolites
with health promoting effects in countering or slowing-
down chronic and degenerative diseases (e.g. cancer,
cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative diseases) identify
phenols and polyphenols, widespread and mostly copious
in dietary plant sources, as beneficial for human health.
These compounds, as intrinsically antioxidant, are claimed
as nutraceuticals with preventive efficacy in offsetting
oxidant species over-genesis in normal cells, and with the
potential ability to halt or reverse oxidative stress-related
diseases. In this context, pure (poly)phenols and/or their
herbal/food complex were found to exert both anti-
and pro-oxidant activities, suggesting also a promising
chemopreventive efficacy. In fact, different evidences
further highlight their ability to induce apoptosis, growth
arrest, DNA synthesis inhibition and/or modulation of
signal transduction pathways. Indeed, a full understanding
of the phenolic and polyphenolic composition of plant
species, which still now represent their inestimable
and worth exploring source, is an important challenge,
which today can and must be favourably pursued in the
consciousness that the bioactivity of a plant extract is
always in its chemistry.
This talk will deepen into polyphenol research, focusing on
biosynthesis, analytical approaches and exploitable activity
of plant extracts rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
polyphenols and/or pure isolated polyphenols, which
could significantly benefit human health and wellbeing
towards non-communicable diseases.
Speaker Biography
Severina Pacifico is associate professor in Food Chemistry at the
University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” (Italy). Her research interest,
in the field of Natural Products and Food Chemistry primarily aims
to the phytochemical study of medicinal and/or edible plants; to the
chemical characterization of secondary metabolites by spectroscopic and
spectrometric techniques; to UHPLC-HRMS/MS metabolic profiling and
fingerprinting of natural extracts; and to the evaluation of antioxidant,
chemopreventive and neuroprotective properties of natural products
(phytocomplexes and secondary metabolites therein).
e:
Severina Pacifico, Asian J Biomed Pharmaceut Sci, Volume:9
DOI: 10.4066/2249-622X-C2-020
Notes: