Phytochemicals Part 1

• Chemicals present naturally in plants

  Phytochemicals
• comes from the Greek word meaning plant

  Phyto
• Phytochemicals include secondary metabolites:

  Essential oils, oleoresin, Phenolic compounds-flavonoids, glycosides, and alkaloids
• Defined as substances that can be extracted from cells and tissues by nonpolar organic solvents

  Plant lipids
• Plant lipids are divided into two major classes:

  Simple lipids and complex lipids
• Those that are not easily hydrolysed by aqueous acid or base

  Simple lipids
• Seem inappropriate because many so-called "simple" lipids are quite complex

  Simple lipids
• Simple lipids include:


  Steroids, prostaglandins, terpenoids, and fat-soluble vitamins
• Common biological intermediate

  Steroids (cholesterol)
• Believed to be the biosynthetic precursor to other steroids


  Cholesterol
• First isolated from secretion of prostate gland


  Prostaglandins
• regulate diverse functionslike blood pressure, blood clotting, allergies, inflammatory

  Prostaglandins
• Complex lipids include:

  Triglycerides and waxes
• Those that easily hydrolysed to simple constituents

  Complex lipids
• mostly esters of long-chain carboxylic acids called fatty acids

  Complex lipids
• Triglycerides include:

  Esters of gliserol, liquid (oil), and solid (fat)
• esters of long chain fatty acids with long chain alcohols

  waxes
• serve a number of purposes in plants and animals like beeswax

  waxes
• a mixture of waxes that bees use to form their honeycomb

  Beeswax
• secreted by carnuba plant to coat its leaves to prevent excessive loss of water by evaporation

  Carnuba waxes
• volatile aromatic compounds obtained via steam or hydrodistillation

  Essential oils
• mainly terpenes and terpenoids (mono and sesqui)

  Essential oils
• some esters and alcohols

  Essential oils
• Solvent extracted product contains volatile and non-volatile components

  Concretes
• ethanol soluble concretes

  absolutes
• solvent extracted product

  oleoresin
• product obtained by soaking dru plant materials in 50 - 95% ethanol in ratio of 1:5 (herbs material: solvent)

  Tincture
• natural products derived from mevalonic acid

  Terpenoids
• consists of isoprene units - C5

  Terpenoids
• Contains oxygen in variety of functional group: alcohol, ketone/aldehyde, ester, ether, and carboxylic acids

  Terpenoids
• Subdivided or classified according to the number of carbons: mono, sesqui, di, tri, tetra, etc

  Terpenoids
• Classification of terpenoids

  Monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, tetraterpenoids
• C10 skeleton

  monoterpenoids
• C15 skeleton

  sesquiterpenoids
• c20 skeleton

  diterpenoids
• c30 skeleton

  triterpenoids
• c40 skeleton

  tetraterpenoids
• pigment in carrot: vitamin A

  beta carotene
• pigment in tomato

  lycopene
• The extract is used in cough mixture as an expectorant

  Thymol and carvacrol