@@@What is called gchemical leadsh is essential for the development of new therapeutic drugs. These are a general name of gseed chemicalsh that are subject to chemical modification in order to develop more effective agents than the original ones, and can be either created artificially by some means or discovered from nature. With respect to the latter higher plants are drawing considerable attention as the most promising source of chemical leads. It has been generally known that each species of higher plants produces characteristic groups of chemicals that are called gsecondary metabolitesh, and the human being has been utilizing these constituents for the development of important therapeutic drugs. Thus it is nothing new but a fact that has already been practiced historically by human being. It is estimated that at least one fourth of the whole therapeutic agents currently prescribed for the treatment of various diseases in modern medicine are either phytochemicals and their derivatives or those developed from chemical leads of higher plant origin. However, they have resulted from a very small portion of higher plants on earth where more than 250,000 species are estimated to occur, and most plants still remain uninvestigated. This is the basis for recent growing attention on higher plants as a potential source of various chemical leads. The gbioprospectingh, one of the least unknown scientific terms though it has become one of the hottest topics nowadays, is a process attempting to screen useful genetic resources out of rich biodiversity in nature. The search of lead chemicals from plant resources also depends upon chemical diversity which higher plants are genetically endowed with. This process is often pursued with the assistance of "ethnobotanical approach", which thus requires an extensive and high level of knowledge concerning botany, natural product science and other related disciplines. Fortunately enough, Japan, one of a few contries in the world where the climate is varigated from subtropical to boreal, is relatively endowed with rich biodiversity (more than 6,000 species of higher plants occur!) for its relatively small territory. This laboratory is not only undertaking the basic scientific research directed toward bioprospecting and ethnobotany but also devoted to collection and preservation of potential medicinal resources in the fields and green house affiliated with Medicinal Plant Garden. We are calling for research collaboration on the corresponding matters mentioned above. Contact us without hesitation!
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Faculty of Pharma Sciences, Teikyo University
