Natural products are found everywhere around, but the challenge is that their very nature and uses of most of them have not been fully explored. Many organisms, plants and animals contain natural products that are very useful to man. Some of these includes terpenes, steroids, alkaloids, Flavonoids, tannins, saponins and many other products of pharmaceutical importance. The challenge encountered with these is identification, extraction and purification which require the basic knowledge of chemistry and organic synthesis. This knowledge can be gain through a systematic and empirical study of natural products. In this course, efforts would be made to expose students of Industrial Chemistry to the general methods of isolation, purification, structure determination and syntheses of natural products. Students will be expected to be at home with the meaning and importance of natural products as well as the importance of natural product chemistry. The course will also expose students to the different classes of natural products available in plants and animals and how to detect and identify them. These includes alkaloids, terpenes, steroid, flavonoids, etc. Students will also be guided to understand the general methods of isolating alkaloids, terpenes, steroids, flavonoids etc. from their natural sources and methods of purification as well as their uses and importance.
- Lecturer : Eugene Ayuk