1) What is a secondary metabolite? What are two roles they commonly play in plants? 

Give three economic uses for secondary metabolites.

What are the two components that make up all glycosides?

2. Give five reasons to rationalize studying plants for their potential medicinal usage?

Prior to starting your study in a remote area with a known aboriginal population, should they be contacted and why?

3. Give three characteristics of an Indigenous population and explain why these would increase the likelihood of a successful search for medicinal plants

4. You have been hired to find potential new medicines from plants. Following an initial successful screening and bioassay, what steps would you take to further examine the potential for the medicine? What problem(s) could occur from collecting the plant. What is the overall major factor limiting medicinal development from plants?

1. Secondary metabolites area compounds that do not play an essential role in the metabolism of organisms or in the primary functions such as photosynthesis and reproduction but are responsible to protect the plants from stresses.

defend the plants from herbivores and pathogens since they are toxic and has repellant properties

1. recent research says that secondary metabolites act as signals and antioxidants

The economic uses are as dyes, fragrance, and insecticides.

The two components of glycosides are: sugar and non-sugar component (aglycone)

2.We need to study plants for their medicinal uses because:

a. there are diverse biological effects of a wide range of plant derived compounds in various classes of chemical groups. 

b. plant-derived compounds can be used to improve the current therapeutic systems

c. for the development of safe, novel, and affordable yet effective medicines 

d. plants have better cultural acceptability

e. plants have better compatibility and adaptability with the human body and pose lesser side effects.

The aboriginal population should be contacted before going to the remote area. Their consent to do your study is necessary because they consider their resources as a cultural heritage. Documentation should be bound by free and prior informed consent. Meaning they should be aware of the benefits and risks of the project and they can withdraw any time at any stage. Their indigenous knowledge and practices were passed one from one generation to another and they have to protect it and their territory from outsiders.

3.characteristics of indigenous people and why they should be source information on medicinal plants

a. they acquired knowledge and practices from the past generation and the effectiveness of the medicinal plant was tested through time

b. Their territories (forest, desert, coastal areas) are extremely varied thus, you can get medicines from various ecosystems. They are considered as safeguards of biodiversity.

c. Indigenous knowledge also incorporates various other elements of a spiritual or philosophical nature (source:https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c4f710b5-ac3e-4e69-9c81-15659e753d76).They can be a source of superfood or miracle cure.

4.Initial steps in new drug discovery involves NCE (new chemical entity) identification which can be done through chemical synthesis or can be isolated from natural products by conducting biological activity guided fractionation.

A powerful and deep assessment of the pharmacological qualities of herbal medicines and their corresponding safety is necessary and actually can be done through technologies like pharmacogenomic, metabolomic, and microarray methodology.

Problems in plant collection: non-approval of permit , political agenda. The indigenous people may ask for incentive as part of the project and present several conditions before getting involved or they do simply do not want to cooperate.

The major limiting factor in my opinion is convincing the big pharmaceutical companies to adopt continuous manufacturing due to negative perceptions on herbal medicine use .