BIOCHEMISTRY - Textbook - Ostapchenko L. I. - 2012

Chapter 1. STRUCTURE AND REACTIVITY OF BIOORGANIC COMPOUNDS

The Study of the chemistry of natural substances has deep historical roots. Human interest in the natural world as a source of useful compounds dates back long before the Common Era. Even in ancient times, civilizations in Egypt, China, India, Greece, and Scythia (the territory of modern Ukraine) possessed the skills to extract Dyes, PLANT AND ANIMAL extracts, and prepare medicinal infusions. For instance, around 2000 BCE in Egypt, the leaves of the indigo plant (Indigofera heminosae) were used to obtain the natural dye indigo (whose Structure and synthesis were later established by A. Baeyer in 1883), while madder ROOT (Rubia tinctorum) yielded alizarin (classified as a glycoside in 1869 and synthesized by C. Graebe and C. Liebermann). In ancient Phoenicia (15th–14th centuries BCE), archaeologists discovered workshop remnants where ancient purple dye was extracted from Mollusks.

The chemistry of natural substances began to develop systematically in the 18th century. In 1782–1783, Swedish chemist C. Scheele performed the first organic synthesis by producing hydrogen cyanide, and between 1775 and 1785, he isolated uric acid from urine, alongside oxalic, lactic, citric, and tartaric acids from fruit juices and sour milk. Four decades later, F. Wöhler achieved the milestone synthesis of oxalic acid (1824) and urea (1828) from inorganic precursors, thereby founding the synthesis of Organic compounds from inorganic matter. Between 1788 and 1793, T. Lowitz isolated glucose in crystalline form. The early 19th century was marked by intensified research into natural compounds: F. Sertürner isolated morphine from opium (1806), L. Vauquelin and P. Robiquet obtained the first amino acid, asparagine, from asparagus juice (1806), and M. Chevreul discovered Cholesterol. The total synthesis of Monosaccharides (whose correct formulas were proposed by R. Fittig and A. Baeyer in 1868–1870) was accomplished by E. Fischer in the late 19th century. P. Ehrlich’s pioneering studies on methylene blue and its analogues in 1891 and subsequent years laid the foundations of modern Chemotherapy.

In 1856, fuchsine was synthesized (J. Natanson), and Nessler's reagent was introduced for the Quantitative determination of urea nitrogen following its Enzymatic Hydrolysis. In 1906, A. Rosenfeld isolated the first enzyme in crystalline form—oxidase—while P. Carnot and C. Deflandre discovered Erythropoietin, a peptide hormone regulating hematopoiesis. In 1909, P. Ehrlich developed salvarsan, the first effective drug against the Syphilis pathogen. In 1935, G. Domagk demonstrated the antimicrobial activity of prontosil, which is metabolized in the body into active sulfanilamide; today, over 50,000 analogues of this compound are known, including sulfadimezine, albucid, and phthalazol.

The expansion of research into the chemistry of natural substances dates back to the middle of the previous century, initially focusing on Alkaloids, Terpenes, and Vitamins, followed by Steroids, plant growth regulators, Antibiotics, and Prostaglandins. The synthesis of analogues of natural BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES (BAS), widely utilized in medicine and agriculture, has also intensified. Furthermore, investigations into CARBOHYDRATES, Proteins, Nucleic Acids, and Lipids as the primary components of Introduction/36.html">Biological Membranes continue to broaden.