Natural product research at UOG

The Western Pacific Tropical Research Center's natural product scientists conduct research in the field of natural product chemistry, particularly on drug discovery and nutraceuticals derived from herbs and medicinal plants grown in Guam.

The extraction and characterization of omega-3 fish oil from marine fish byproducts is another interesting project for food and nutraceuticals. The Natural Products Lab focuses on the use of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technology for the extraction of plant and fish extracts, as well as for the qualitative and quantitative chemical screening of such extracts and the analysis of the pharmacological properties of biologically active compounds. The Natural Products Lab produces herbal supplements with endemic herbs and medicinal plants using green technology and offers scientific support for the ethnopharmaceutical usage of medicinal plants. 

Why it's important

Guam has a diverse range of ecosystems, including limestone forests, wetland ecosystems, savannas, strands, and ravine forests. Many plant species have been used for centuries as herbal medicine for the remedies of ailments and as a preventative dietary supplement by traditional healers. Medicinal plants contain a wide variety of secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and sulfur-containing compounds, which have been found to have different pharmacological activities. The indigenous plants of Guam could be a potential source of new drug discovery to treat modern-day diseases following extensive research on proper identification, phytochemical extraction, separation, and characterization of bioactive compounds.

Supercritical fluid extraction

Extraction is the most vital step in separating the desired bioactive compounds from the raw materials. Conventional extraction methods are usually employed; however, they have drawbacks, such as low extraction yield and selectivity, long extraction period, degradation of heat liable compounds, and use of hazardous organic solvent. SFE has recently gained popularity as one of the most effective green extraction techniques because of its improved selectivity, higher extraction yields at low temperatures and short extraction times, greater fractionation capabilities, and less environmental impact.

The Natural Products Lab is in the process of purchasing an SFE system. The SFE system represents a sustainable alternative to classical extraction methods for fractionating and separating natural chemical components, such as flavonoids, essential oils, seed oils, carotenoids, and fatty acids from plant, agricultural byproducts and marine species of Guam.