Djaja D. Soejarto | |
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Born | |
Nationality | US citizen |
Occupation(s) | Botanist, ethnobotanist, pharmacognosist, academic and author |
Awards | Distinguished Economic Botanist, Society for Economic Botany (2012) Norman Farnsworth Excellence in Botanical Research Award, American Botanical Council (2012) Tyler Prize Award, American Society of Pharmacognosy (2022) |
Academic background | |
Education | BSc M.A., Biology PhD, Biology |
Alma mater | College of Agriculture, Tjiawi, Bogor, Indonesia Harvard University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Illinois at Chicago Field Museum of Natural History |
Djaja D. Soejarto is an Indonesian-born botanist,ethnobotanist,pharmacognosist,academic and author. He is an adjunct curator at the Field Museum of Natural History as well as professor emeritus in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and at the Pharmacognosy Institute of the College of Pharmacy,the University of Illinois at Chicago. [1]
Soejarto is most known for his works on medicinal plants of Southeast Asia. His works have been published in academic journals,including Economic Botany and Journal of Natural Products , [2] as well as books such as Ethnobotany of Tuberculosis in Laos [3] and Medicinal Plants of Laos. [4] He is the recipient of the 2022 Tyler Prize Award from the American Society of Pharmacognosy. [5]
Soejarto was the editor of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology . [6]
Soejarto completed his BSc from the College of Agriculture in Java in 1962,followed by an M.A. in biology from Harvard University. In 1969,he obtained a PhD in biology from the same institution. [1]
Soejarto joined the University of Antioquia in 1971,where he undertook various roles,serving as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology from 1971 to 1973 and subsequently as an associate professor in the same department from 1973 to 1976. Between 1979 and 1983,he served as an adjunct associate professor of pharmacognosy in the Department of Pharmacognosy and Pharmacology,College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. At the University of Illinois Chicago,he held multiple positions,including an appointment as an associate professor in the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy and Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences from 1983 to 1989. From 1989 to 2014,he held the position of professor of pharmacognosy. Concurrently,he held the position of an affiliate professor of biology at the same institution from 1990 to 1995. Since 2015,he has held the position of professor emeritus in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Program for Collaborative Research in the Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. [1]
Soejarto founded the Herbarium of the University of Antioquia in Medellin,Colombia,serving as its director from 1969 to 1976. [7] [8] Between 1991 and 1997,he held an honorary appointment as a researcher in the National Museum,Manila. Apart from this,he served in consulting roles at the Chinese Traditional Medicine Division of the Hong Kong Department of Health from 2009 to 2017. Since 2013,he has served as an adjunct curator in Science and Education at the Field Museum of Natural History. Furthermore,in collaboration with his chemistry colleagues,he has conducted fieldwork that led to the discovery of new drug lead compounds from plants he collected,primarily in Vietnam and Laos. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]
Soejarto has authored books throughout his research career. [14] In his book titled Ethnobotany of Tuberculosis in Laos,he explored traditional healing practices in Laos,presenting previously unpublished photographs of medicinal plants from the region. The book also provided a comprehensive account of newly isolated medically interesting compounds from the genus Marsypopetalum (Annonaceae),marking the first documentation of such compounds from this genus. [3]
Focusing on endangered or threatened plant species growing in the United States,Soejarto's 1985 study projected the extinction of 2,067 valuable medicinal plants by 2000,estimating their collective value at $3.248 billion. The research also underscored the necessity of safeguarding these plants to secure the future availability of essential prescription drugs. [15] In the same year,he explored the use of locally available plants or plant extracts for primary health care by presenting a list of plant-derived drugs their sources,and therapeutic uses,aiming to identify alternatives to pharmaceutical preparations. [16] His 1995 collaborative study with JT Baker and others discussed the shift in attitudes towards global genetic resources,emphasizing the importance of conserving these resources and indigenous knowledge through international collaboration,fair compensation,and the implementation of policies outlined in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. [17] Furthermore,in papers published in 2004 and 2007,he provided a factual model on the equitable sharing of benefits in a north–south bioprospecting endeavor between the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology,Hanoi,Vietnam,on the one hand,and the Institute of Traditional Medicine,Ministry of Health,Lao People's Democratic Republic,on the other. [18]
Soejarto has also worked in the identification of tropical plant materials for research in developing anticancer and anti-HIV drugs. His research has contributed to the discovery and subsequent advancement of bioactive molecules. Notably,he identified the source plant of the anti-HIV active lead compounds calanolides A and B from Calophyllum lanigerum and C. teysmannii (Clusiaceae) in Sarawak,Malaysia,as well as anticancer active lead compounds phyllanthusmins C and D from Phyllanthus poilanei (Euphorbiaceae) collected in Vietnam. [19] Additionally,he also investigated the potential sweetening agents of plant origin. [20] [21] In one of his studies,he explored the organoleptic qualities of 184 Stevia leaf samples,highlighting that a 62-year-old leaf of S. rebaudiana retained significant and lasting sweetness through diverse preservation methods. It further identified 18 other species and varieties for potential phytochemical investigation of ent-kaurene glycosides. [22] His 2005 collaborative research with A Koch and others delved into Maasai herbalists' traditional knowledge of malaria treatment,revealing 21 plant species through interviews,with in vitro assays confirming the antiplasmodial efficacy of more than half,highlighting ethnomedical inquiry's potential for antimalarial drug discovery. [23] Furthermore,he previously led the Vietnam-Laos International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) project from 1998 to 2012. This research explored and identify novel bioactive compounds from plants in Vietnam and Laos for potential therapeutic applications against HIV/AIDS,cancer,tuberculosis,and malaria. [24] [25] [26]
Bioprospecting is the exploration of natural sources for small molecules, macromolecules and biochemical and genetic information that could be developed into commercially valuable products for the agricultural, aquaculture, bioremediation, cosmetics, nanotechnology, or pharmaceutical industries. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, almost one third of all small-molecule drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1981 and 2014 were either natural products or compounds derived from natural products.
Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered.
Pharmacognosy is the study of crude drugs obtained from medicinal plants, animals, fungi, and other natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources".
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and development of new chemical entities suitable for therapeutic use. It also includes the study of existing drugs, their biological properties, and their quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR).
A natural product is a natural compound or substance produced by a living organism—that is, found in nature. In the broadest sense, natural products include any substance produced by life. Natural products can also be prepared by chemical synthesis and have played a central role in the development of the field of organic chemistry by providing challenging synthetic targets. The term natural product has also been extended for commercial purposes to refer to cosmetics, dietary supplements, and foods produced from natural sources without added artificial ingredients.
Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and plant biology, and the biosynthesis of these compounds. Plants synthesize phytochemicals for many reasons, including to protect themselves against insect attacks and plant diseases. The compounds found in plants are of many kinds, but most can be grouped into four major biosynthetic classes: alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, polyketides, and terpenoids.
Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous peoples. The word ethnomedicine is sometimes used as a synonym for traditional medicine.
Camptothecin (CPT) is a topoisomerase inhibitor. It was discovered in 1966 by M. E. Wall and M. C. Wani in systematic screening of natural products for anticancer drugs. It was isolated from the bark and stem of Camptotheca acuminata, a tree native to China used in traditional Chinese medicine. It has been used clinically in China for the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors. CPT showed anticancer activity in preliminary clinical trials, especially against breast, ovarian, colon, lung, and stomach cancers. However, it has low solubility and adverse effects have been reported when used therapeutically, so synthetic and medicinal chemists have developed numerous syntheses of camptothecin and various derivatives to increase the benefits of the chemical, with good results. Four CPT analogues have been approved and are used in cancer chemotherapy today: topotecan, irinotecan, belotecan, and trastuzumab deruxtecan. Camptothecin has also been found in other plants including Chonemorpha fragrans.
Jerry L. McLaughlin is a researcher who has conducted research for 28 years studying plants looking for molecules that fight cancer at Purdue University's School of Pharmacy. He published his findings on the Annonaceous acetogenins in peer reviewed journals. These acetogenins have been identified as having a number of effects, including acting as potential anticancer agents.
Plant sources of anti-cancer agents are plants, the derivatives of which have been shown to be usable for the treatment or prevention of cancer in humans.
Justicia gendarussa, commonly known as Willow-leaved justicia ,Lapsulis in Creole Seychelles; is a small erect, branched shrub. According to Plants of the World Online it is native to the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, the Philippines, and New Guinea, and has been introduced to Nepal, the western Himalayas, Pakistan, southern China including Hainan and Taiwan, eastern Africa, and the Mascarene Islands, Comoro Islands, and Seychelles. It has been described as rare and endemic to India, though those claims are at least confusing, in the context of statements that the plant is widely used in various forms for many of its medicinal and insecticidal properties, and that it is a quick-growing, evergreen forest shrub considered to be a native of China and distributed in Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia.
Christophe Wiart is a French scientist.
α-Hederin (alpha-hederin) is a water-soluble pentacyclic triterpenoid saponin found in the seeds of Nigella sativa and leaves of Hedera helix.
Cassandra Leah Quave is an American ethnobotanist, herbarium curator, and associate professor at Emory University. Her research focuses on analyzing natural, plant-based medicine of indigenous cultures to help combat infectious disease and antibiotic resistance. In particular, she studies bacterial biofilm inhibition and quorum-sensing inhibition of botanical extracts for inflammatory skin conditions.
Vobasine is a naturally occurring monoterpene indole alkaloid found in several species in the genus Tabernaemontana including Tabernaemontana divaricata.
Phillip Crews is an African American chemist at UCSC. His research work is around marine natural products chemistry and diversity education in chemistry. He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2008.
George Robert Pettit II was a Regents’ Professor in Chemistry in the School of Molecular Sciences (SMS) at Arizona State University. He was an internationally renowned and respected researcher in the field of natural anticancer compounds throughout his career of over six decades. Pettit has been honored by the International Cancer Advocacy Network, the American Society of Pharmacognosy, and Washington State University, his alma mater. A special edition of the Journal of Natural Products is dedicated to Pettit, and the French journal Médicine Sciences paid tribute to him. Pettit’s achievements earned him the designation of Outstanding Investigator by the United States National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute (NCI). Pettit and his impact on the field of anti-cancer compounds are the subject of the book, “Waging War on Cancer.”
Ben-Erik van Wyk FAAS is a South African professor of indigenous botany and traditional African medicine at the University of Johannesburg.
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