| CODE | CPH1911 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Pharmacology and Toxicology of Natural Products | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 2 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit provides an insight into the effects of natural products on the human body. Natural products are derived from several sources, and hence the classification of natural products by source (plant, animal and mineral). These natural products are further categorised by their intended use, based on definitions as laid down in EU Directives for medicines, food supplements and cosmetics. The pharmacological and toxicological effects of these natural products are experienced due to the presence of several constituents stored in these natural sources. The main metabolite classes (terpenoids including carotenoids, flavonoids and phenylpropanoid derivatives, alkaloids, glycosides, steroids, cannabinoids and tannins) will be discussed. Cannabis, a natural product with promising pharmacological uses will be discussed as a case. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims at providing the student with the necessary knowledge and understanding of the fact that some drugs and medicines are derived from natural sources. They also, however, have potential adverse effects with a relationship between their therapeutic and toxicological effects on the body in a dose response manner, and a margin of safety based on their therapeutic window. Some drugs of abuse are derived, entirely or in part, from these natural sources. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Provide the categorisation of the main sources of natural products and their formulation in finished products. - Describe the classification of metabolites into their respective classes. - Explain how these metabolites affect human health, i.e., their pharmacological and toxicological effects 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Evaluate the use of natural products and their formulations into the three main categories; medicine, food/food supplements and cosmetics. - Describe the potential pharmacological effects of primary and secondary metabolites from natural sources. - Explore the metabolite classes for a given natural product. - Devise methods for the pharmcological testing of natural products. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Lecture notes (and specific readings to be included on VLE) - Karuppusamy Arunachalam (Ed), Xuefei Yang (Ed, Sreeja Puthanpura Sasidharan (Ed) (2023) Natural Product Experiments in Drug Discovery. Springer Protocols Handbooks - N P S Sengar, Ashwini Singh, Ritesh Agrawal (2018). A Textbook of Pharmacognosy . PharmaMed Press - Sarah E. Edwards (2015). Phytopharmacy - an Evidence-Based Guide to Herbal Medicinal Products Paperback. Wiley-Blackwell Supplementary Readings: - Tracy, T. S., & Kingston, R. L. (Eds.). (2007). Herbal products: toxicology and clinical pharmacology. Springer Science & Business Media. - Cupp, M. J. (2000). Toxicology and clinical pharmacology of herbal products (pp. 85-93). M. J. Cupp (Ed.). Totowa, NJ, USA:: Humana Press. Journals: - Pharmacology and Toxicology of Natural Medicines - Pharmacological Research - Natural Products - Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology |
||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
|
||||||||
| LECTURER/S | Everaldo Attard Anthony Fenech (Co-ord.) Janet Mifsud |
||||||||
|
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
|||||||||