19 April 2011

Where Do Drugs Come From and What Are Their Basic Components?

Traditionally, drugs from natural sources, such as: plantesanimauxminéraux.Today, however, laboratory researchers have used traditional knowledge, with the chemical sciences to develop sources of synthetic drugs. One of the advantages of developed drugs are chemically they are free of impurities in natural substances. Also, researchers and drug developers can manipulate the molecular substances such as antibiotics structure so that a slight change in the chemical structure makes the effective drug against different agencies. The first-, second, third and fourth generation cephalosporins are an example.Sowing the seeds of the drugsThe first beverage of drugs from plants all used: leaves, roots, bulb, stem, seeds, buds and flowers. Later, noxious substances often find their way in the mixture.Active AgentsAs understanding of plants as sources of the drug has become more sophisticated, researchers tried to isolate and to intensify the active components while avoiding harmful ones. The active components of plants vary in character and effect: alkaloids, the most active components of plants, react with acids to form a salt that is able to dissolve more readily in body fluids. The names of the alkaloids and their salts end usually by "-Ina"; atropine, caffeine and nicotine examples.Glycosides are naturally active components that are found in plants and beneficial and toxic effects. They have names that end in "-in", such as digoxin.Gum products the opportunity to attract and retain the water. The extractions of algae and seeds examples with starch.Resins, whose main source is the pine tree SAP, Act commonly known as irritating local or laxatives and caustic agents.Oils, thick and sometimes greasy liquid, are classified as volatile or fixed. Volatile oils, which easily evaporate, examples of peppermint, Spearmint, and juniper. Fixed oils, which are not easily evaporated, including castor oil and olive oil.Help of organic liquid animalsThe or glands of animals are also sources of natural drug. Drugs obtained from animal sources are the following: hormones, such as the insulinehuiles and fat (usually fixed), such as cod liver oil - enzymes that are produced by living cells and act as catalysts, such as the pancreatin and the pepsinevaccins, which include suspensions of killed, attenuated or modified micro-organisms or antigenic materials obtained from of these.Many mineralsMetallic and non-metallic minerals provide various inorganic materials not available from plants or animals. Mineral springs are used as they occur in nature or can be combined with other ingredients. Iron, iodine and magnesium salts are examples of drugs which contain minerals.In the labToday, most of the drugs are produced in laboratories. Thyroid hormone (from natural sources) and cimetidine (from synthetic sources) of the examples of these drugs.DNA, thus opening the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) wayRecombinant research has led to another chemical source of organic compounds. For example, handling and the reorganization of the genetic information helps scientists develop bacteria produce human insulin.