Overall objectives:

1 - To understand the concept of Pharmacognosy. Learn the main methods of the biosynthetic study, distinguish primary and secondary metabolites, identifying the main precursors of the biosynthesis pathways, their marking and administration.
2 - To study the nature of biosynthetic reactions, intervention of enzymes and mechanisms.
3 - To understand the importance and application of the study of the metabolome in human activities in the fields of health, food safety, agriculture and energy, as well as in the communication between species and within the same species.
4 - SKILLS TO BE ACQUIRED BY THE STUDENT: Development of research capacity, critical thinking and autonomous study. Working as a team outside the usual social group, developing leadership and negotiation skills. Ability to relate the acquired knowledge with the observed phenomena in daily life. Ability to plan, execute and propose experimental strategies, to interpret and communicate results.

Syllabus:

1 - Pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and drugs derived from plants and microorganisms.
2 - Primary and secondary metabolites. Precursors. Nature of biosynthetic reactions. Enzymes and mechanisms. Building blocks.
3 - Metabolites derived from the acetic acid. Most common reactions in the polycetonic chain. The arachidonic acid cascade: prostaglanins and jasmonoids. Aromatic compounds derived from polycetonic chain.
4 - Pathway of mevalonic acid vs deoxylulose phosphate pathway: Terpenoids and steroids. Mixed origin compounds.
5 - Metabolites derived from the shikimic acid. Most common reactions of C6C3 amino acids. Derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acids: coumarins and flavonoids. Lignins. Gallic acid and tannins.
6 - Alkaloids: derived from aliphatic amino acids, derived from tryptophan and from phenylalanine and its oxygenated derivatives
7 - Bioactive carbohydrates
8 - Chemical communication and semio-chemistry
9 - "Molecular farming" e industrial biotechnology

Literature/Sources:

Ana M. Lobo, Ana M. Lourenço; , 2007 , Biossíntese de Produtos Naturais, , IST Press
Dewick Paul M.; , 2009 , Medicinal Natural Products: A Biosynthetic Approach , John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
5. Walsh, C.T. & Tang Y , 2019 , Natural Product Biosynthesis: Chemical Logic and Enzymatic Machinery , The Royal Society of Chemistry, Croydon

Assesssment methods and criteria:

Classification Type: Quantitativa (0-20)

Evaluation Methodology:
This UC comprises 32h of theoretical and 32h of theoric-practical classes divided by 16 weeks. Teaching is accompanied by multimedia projection. The use of laptops and tablets is encouraged to promote interaction and effective participation of students. Part of these classroom sessions is dedicated to the debate of correlated aspects of primary and secondary metabolism previously researched by students. Each student selects a plant and prepares a monograph on aspects of pharmacognosy and/or industrial applications. They will also elaborate a protocol for a laboratory mini-project to be developed in the unit of Laboratory of Biochemistry I. The evaluation of this UC consists of: a) 1 test, a minimum score of 9.5 points out of 20 (40%). b) 1 protocol for a mini-project set of experiments (20%) c) 1 monograph on a plant to the student's choice (30%) and presentation to the class (10%)