SYLLABUS	Natural Products Chemistry	CHEM256
		Fall 2007

Instructor: J. Brent Friesen

Office: 326 Parmer Hall

Phone: 524-6972

Email: jbfriesen@dom.edu

Webpage: http://domin.dom.edu/faculty/jbfriesen/

Class Format:

Lecture: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 12:30-1:20

Attendance is MANDATORY at all class meetings

Required Materials:

Healing Practices: Alternative Therapies for Nursing. K.L. Fontaine Prentice Hall; 2^nd edition (2004) ISBN-10: 0131512544

Understanding Medicinal Plants: Their Chemistry And Therapeutic Action
by Bryan Hanson, Haworth Press (2005) ISBN-10: 0789015528

Supplemental Materials:

Many handouts will be distributed during class. You will need a binder to organize them.

Website:

Course website à http://domin.dom.edu/faculty/jbfriesen/chem256.htm

blackboard à http://blackboard.dom.edu

Course Description:

Natural Products Chemistry is a course in the chemistry discipline area. We will explore the historical and contemporary role of secondary natural products in health care and commerce. We will learn how natural products are normally classified according to their biosynthetic origins and chemical properties. A special emphasis will be placed on how chemical structure affects the physiological function of various natural products. These "structure activity relationships" help us learn about the interaction of small molecules in living systems and pharmacology of drugs.

Since this is an upper level course it will be assumed that students are able and equipped to do research in an area that is somewhat new to them. Instead of reviewing and applying lecture material, much of the homework will involve discovering and researching in areas related to topics the lectures have not yet covered. This course adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject of natural products, therefore we will draw from the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, botany, clinical medicine, pharmacology and pharmacognosy.

Course Objectives:

1) Think Molecular! Molecules are interesting and important. Molecular thinking helps us understand natural phenomena. From the lecture, text, and research/discovery projects in this course, you will be able to ask questions about natural phenomena and use models and metaphor to describe what is going on at the molecular level.

2) You will improve your research skills and your critical thinking skills. We will perform some traditional assignments such as quizzes, worksheets and formal papers. We will also attempt several non-traditional assignments such as class presentations, group projects, article reviews, web page construction and poster presentations.

3) Finally, you will continue to take charge of your own liberal arts education. This course requires a significant amount of self-discipline and independent motivation. To get the most out of this course, you must put your own best effort into the course.

Academic Integrity Policy

Students of the university must conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty and integrity. Failure to maintain academic integrity will not be tolerated. The following definitions are provided for understanding and clarity.

Definitions of Plagiarism, Cheating and Academic Dishonesty

Student plagiarism is the deliberate presentation of the writing or thinking of another as the student’s own. In written or oral work a student may make fair use of quotations, ideas, images, etc., that appear in others’ work only if the student gives appropriate credit to the original authors, thinkers, owners or creators of that work. This includes material found on the internet and in electronic databases.

Cheating entails the use of unauthorized or prohibited aid in accomplishing assigned academic tasks. Obtaining unauthorized help on examinations, using prohibited notes on closed-note examinations, and depending on others for writing of essays or the creation of other assigned work are all forms of cheating.

Academic dishonesty may also include other acts intended to misrepresent the authorship of academic work. Deliberate acts threatening the integrity of library materials or the smooth operation of laboratories are among possible acts of academic dishonesty.

Sanctions for Violations of Academic Integrity

If an instructor determines that a student has violated the academic integrity policy, the instructor may choose to impose a sanction, ranging from refusal to accept a work product to a grade “F” for the assignment to a grade “F” for the course. When a sanction has been imposed, the instructor will inform the student in writing. The instructor must also inform the student that she/he has the right to appeal this sanction, and refer the student to the Academic Appeals Process described in the Bulletin of the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences. The instructor will send a copy of this letter to the Dean of the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences. The Dean will note whether a student has committed multiple violations of the academic integrity policy over time, and in such cases the Dean may institute a process leading to possible further sanctions, including suspension or expulsion from the university…

Tentative Course Calendar:

Date	Lecture/Class Topic	Text Selection
9/05	Introduction to CHEM256	Magic &
9/07	History of Medicine	Medicine
9/10	History of Medicine	of Plants
9/12	Alternative Therapies	Healing Practices: Chap 1-2
9/14	Traditional African Medicine	Chap 3-4
9/17	Ayurvedic	Chap 5
9/19	Botanical Healing	Chap 6-7
9/21	Aromatherapy	Chap 8
9/24	Dietary Supplements	Chap 9
9/26	Molecules	Understanding: Chap 1-3
9/28	Primary Metabolites	Medicinal: pp 69-83
10/01	Secondary Metabolites	Plants: pp 83-95
10/03	Alkaloids
10/05	Alkaloids
10/08	Alkaloids
10/10	phenolics	pp 95-111
10/12	phenolics
10/15	phenolics
10/17	terpenes	pp 111-118
10/19	LONG WEEKEND
10/22	terpenes
10/24	Chemical Behavior	Chapter 5
10/26	Antioxidants
10/29
10/31	Drug Delivery & Action	Chapter 6
11/02
11/05
11/07	Ayahuasca (mood altering substances)	Chapter 7
11/09	Ginkgo
11/12	Anti-cancer
11/14	Coffee	Handouts…
11/16	Caffeine
11/19	Cocaine
11/21	THANKSGIVING
11/23	THANKSGIVING
1126	Antibiotics
11/28	Taxol / Anticancer
11/30	Marihuana
12/03	Cranberry
12/05	Quinine / Anti-Malarials
12/07	Galanthamine / Alzheimer’s
12/10	Garlic
12/12	Preparation for Final Projects
12/14
12/??	Final Projects Due

Tentative list of Assignments:

Week	Topic	Format
1.	Influential People in the History of Medicine	Research Paper
2.	Alternative Therapies	Research Paper
3.	Alternative Therapies	Opinion paper
4.	Organic Chemistry	Problem set
5.	Alkaloids of Historical Importance	Research paper
6.	Mood Enhancing Drugs	Poster
7.	Terpenes & Steroids	Web site
8.	Antioxidants	Original Literature
9.	Drug Discovery & Development	Article review
10.	A Critical Review of Herbal Remedy Claims	Paper including interviews/surveys
11.	Choice	Power point
12.	Choice	Presentation w/o pp
Xtra	Book Report	Respond to Questions
Final	NAPRO Drug Development Proposal	Group Project

Alternate ideas:

1) Drug Discovery and Ecological Biodiversity

2) Anti-Cancer Drug Discovery

3) Legal Aspects of Herbal Drugs

4) Orphan Diseases

5) Ethnic Herbal Use

Grading for Natural Products : The distribution of the grades will be:

Quizzes (40)	200 points total	40%
Homework Assignments (12)	20 points each	48%
Final Project	60 points	12%

Letter Grade Assignments:

	100 > A > 92%	92 > A- > 90
90 > B+ > 88	88 > B > 84	84 > B- > 82
82 > C+ > 80	80 > C > 76	76 > C- > 74
	74 > D > 65

Attendance: Class attendance is an essential component of this course. You will lose 5 points for every 15 minutes that you are absent during regular class time. If you are absent you cannot receive the points designated for the in-class quiz. Four absences will reduce the best grade possible for the course to a “B+.” Six absences will reduce the best grade possible for the course to a “C+.” More than Six missed class sessions will result in an “F” grade for the course.

Quizzes: There will be at least 40 in-class quizzes. They will cover the assigned readings, assigned homework and the material presented in the preceding class periods. If a quiz is missed, you will not be able to make it up. Quizzes will be 5-10 minutes in length and may be administered at any time during the class period. These quizzes are designed to help you keep you up to date in the class, and to encourage you to do practice questions.

Homework: Homework will be assigned on the regular basis (about one a week). The topics we are covering are broad and multi-disciplinary; therefore, we will make use of a wide variety of resources. Homework assignments are designed to help you learn how to do literature research, to think critically about a particular issue and to present your findings in a concise, understandable fashion. This course adopts a “shared homework” philosophy. Various approaches to sharing your research with the rest of the class will pre presented. Hand your homework in at the beginning of the class period the day it is due. Any homework handed in after it is due will receive a one-point deduction. Any late homework handed in after the homework has been graded and handed back will receive a one-letter-grade-deduction on the corrected score.

Final Project: The final project is a team effort. You will integrate the various aspects of medicinal natural products into the framework of a class presentation.

Course Intensification: This course carries a course intensification option which adds one credit hour to the course. Course intensification will be in the form on experimental procedures that complement the course content.

Some Reflections On Teaching and Learning: My job is to identify and develop the major conceptual issues for the course and then to show how those concepts are used in understanding the role of natural products in health care and commerce. In addition, I hope to articulate the connections between concepts in this class, other classes that you are taking and "real life." I would also like to share with you some of the exciting modern advances in pharmacognosy and the applications. In order to accomplish these goals, I would like to have an interactive classroom with feedback from you. This possibility means less lecturing and more discussion with a focus on your homework assignments, life experience and reading. Hopefully, we can create an environment where it is possible to ask questions, take risks and even fail. Listed below are some suggestions which will help you to learn and will also help set up an interactive, constructive environment.

1. Come to class. Regular attendance is expected. You are responsible for all information disseminated at all class meetings. If you are not there, you will miss the flow of events, the questions and discussion of your peers, and information given in the lecture.

2. Do your homework and assigned reading in a timely fashion.

3. Prepare for class ahead of time. Coming into class "cold" every time will hurt your understanding of the material and damage the progress of the whole class.

4. Study diagrams and tables. They are more than pretty pictures. They can pull together what is being described in the text in a very vivid way.

5. It is absolutely essential that you learn the vocabulary of natural products. Important words and terms must be memorized. Make a list of vocabulary words that you feel are essential to understanding the literature.

6. If you are in trouble, ask for help. I have posted office hours at which time I will be available to answer questions. I will also be glad to make an appointment for other times. If you have a quick question, feel free to contact me by email. Remember, in the end, you are responsible for learning.