Phytochemistry and phytotherapy

The main interests of phytochemistry deal with the chemical processes associated with plant life and with the chemical compounds produced by plants. Through the application of chemical, chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques, phytochemists work to isolate, purify and structurally characterize plant secondary metabolites in the pure form or in mixture, as happens for example with essential oils. These metabolites can find application as lead compounds for the discovery of new drugs, for the development of nutraceutical or cosmeceutical remedies, or as an aid for plant physiology studies. Thus, phytochemists work in close connection with botanist, plant physiologists, biologists and pharmacologists.

Research groups:

• (Phytochemistry Group) Phytochemistry Group focuses its research activity on the isolation, stereostructural characterization and quantitative evaluation of bioactive products from natural sources, with particular attention to the plants known in traditional medicine and/or to those commonly used as food plants. The metabolites are selected according to their bio-pharmacological interest, considering the possibility to use them as lead compounds for the development of new drugs or as tools to investigate innovative biochemical aspects. In some cases, semi-synthetic modifications or total syntheses shall be made. The evaluation of the bio-pharmaceutical activities is achieved through a wide range of national and international collaborations. Some of the projects in which Phytochemistry Group is involved include: a) Identification of molecules with antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antitumor activities and active against the multi-drug resistance. b)  Identification and design of leads active against malaria and other protozoan infections. c) Identification of active molecules on TRPs channels and cannabinoids receptors (CBs).
• (NATLEAD) Isolation, structural characterization and biochemical studies on secondary metabolites targeting nuclear metabolic receptors isolated from Mediterranean plants.
• (BIOFIFA) Our main research interests include the pharmacological study of plant-derived compounds, with a special focus on the phytochemicals able to activate endogenous receptors, such as cannabinoid and opioid receptors as well as TRP channels. Additional topics are the ethnopharmacology, the nutritional pharmacology, the pharmacological evaluation of dietary supplements as well as the clinical pharmacology of herbal medicines, including phytopharmacovigilance and herb drug interactions. One of our primary goals is the study of the role of cannabinoid receptors and TRP irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal tumors. We adopt in vitro and in vivo methods for the evaluation of intestinal motility (including enteric neurotransmission), as well as in vivo models of intestinal inflammation (e.g. DSS or DNBS models of murine colitis) and colon carcinogenesis (e.g. tumors induced by carcinogenic agents, colitis-associated cancer, xenografts model, metastatic models of colon cancer). Lastly, our scientific interests also include the use of biotechnology on beneficial microbes, with the aim to ameliorate the nutritional quality of foods and to identify compounds derived from microbes as potential new drugs.
• (NMEs-NS) Major tasks of the Search of New Molecular Entities from Natural Sources (NME-NS) research group are the discovery of new biologically active compounds found in naturally occurring sources such as medicinal plants, their semi-synthetic derivatives and the characterization of their molecular mode of action. Our research focuses are: i) the identification of new active natural products by target-diseases oriented in animal models using material preselected in collaboration partners via ethnopharmacological knowledge or via in silico tools; ii) in vitro identification of the biological targets at cellular level. The in vivo and in vitro studies currently used in our lab focus on the treatment of cardiovascular, Alzheimer and inflammatory diseases.

Partecipants:

• Francesca Borrelli
• Raffaele Capasso
• Maria Valeria D’Auria
• Simona De Marino
• Carmen Formisano
• Angelo Antonio Izzo
• Francesco Maione
• Nicola Mascolo
• Daniela Rigano
• Barbara Romano
• Orazio Taglialatela Scafati
• Lois Woo Sheridan
• Angela Zampella
• Franco Zollo