Talk:Natural product/Outline2

Classification based on source

• introduction
  • simple, general utility, historical, but some modern difficulties assigning single sources (e.g., commensal organisms, etc.)
  • explanation that other categorizations create further subsets of simple outline (e.g., marine plants, terrestrial plants)
• prokaryotic sources
  • bacterial
  • archaeal
• eukaryotic sources

[minimal subsection description: omitted subsections added to categories already in current "Natural sources" section, so later phrases "fungal NP", "marine NP", etc, have meaning]

• • plant
  • fungi
  • animal

[minimal section description: brief so to not overwhelm article opening, consolidating repeat-appearing/redundant content (e.g., mult. animal, plant appearances).]

Classification based on biosynthesis/structure

[Note: Development in classification explanations is from organism to molecule, from most easily understood to sophisticated and complicated]

• acetate pathway → fatty acids and polyketides
• shikimate pathway → aromatic amino acids and phenylpropanoids
• mevalonate methyletrythritol phosphate pathways → terpenoids and steroids
• amino acids → alkaloids

Classification based on function

[note: dichotomy based on Demain and Fang thus far]

Primary metabolites

• definition, e.g., mainly affecting organism producing, wide species distribution, essential for life, etc.
• example classes
  • structure – cell membranes (phospholipids), cell walls (peptidoglycans), cytoskeletons (proteins)
  • genetic information – nucleic acids
  • energy – respiratory and photosynthetic enzymes (proteins, cofactors)
  • control
    • first messengers, signaling molecules effecting differentiation, growth factors (proteins, biogenic amines, steroid hormones, auxins, gibberellins, etc.)
    • second messengers (cyclic nucleotides, diacylglycerol, etc.)
    • receptors (proteins)
    • agents integrated into sporulation

Secondary metabolites

• definition, e;g;, mainly affecting other organisms, narrow species distribution, increased competitiveness rather than survival req., etc.
• example classes
  • semiochemicals/pheromones
  • agents of symbiosis
  • agents that solubilize and transport nutrients (siderophores, etc.)
  • competitive weapons (toxins, venoms, etc.)
  • unknown function

[minimal subsection description: perhaps to include dispensable/narrow species distribution not classified as primary metabolite, w/function otherwise unknown]

Medical uses

• Traditional medicine and ethnopharmacology
• Modern pharmacotherapy
• Marketed drugs
  • Oncology
  • Infectious diseases
  • Other areas
  • Off-market examples

Notable examples

[minimal section description: perhaps to include familiar or societally impactful cases, from red tide to yew needles]

• microbial antibiotics
• microbial mycotoxins
• plant semiochemicals
• plant colorants

Isolation, purification, and analytical techniques

• Sources and preparation
• Crude extracts

[minimal subsection description: perhaps to include and wikilink to herbal remedies]

• Purifications
• Analyses

Structure and properties

• Structure determination
• Property determination

Biotechnology applications

• screening type assays, incl. HTS
• individual compound assay
• pharmacologic evaluation
• tool compound use
• toxicology

Commercial production

• Via harvest
• Via biotechnology
• Microbial (incl. fermentation)
• Plant tissue
• Semisynthesis
• Other

Chemical synthesis

• Microbial transformations
• Semisynthesis
• Total synthesis
• Combinatorial synthesis and biosynthesis

Research and teaching

• Pharmacognosy
• Chemical ecology
• Ethnopharmacology
• Chemistry

[minimal subsection description: perhaps to include remaining aspects of current "Impact on chemistry" section]

• Other areas

[minimal subsection description: perhaps to include phylogenetics, systems biology, and chemoinformatics, as described in Sammuelsson]

Other commercial aspects

[minimal section description: perhaps to include legal definitions and regulations]

History

[minimal section description: perhaps to include parts of current impact on chemistry, but mostly new, from a richly sourced literature, incl. significant societal impacts]