Natural Products: The Language of Nature
Lessons from the ways that plants communicate with their neighbors.
Natural Products: The Language of Nature
I spend a lot of time in nature, watching, listening to, and feeling the various living things that surround me. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to speak with the trees, chatter with the weeds, and share poetry with wildflowers? What if we could speak the same language? Year by year, scientists are getting closer to achieving the feat of reading (if not yet speaking) the language of nature!
The language of nature is expressed through molecules known as natural products—small compounds produced by living organisms. Among plants, these compounds are divided into two general classes: primary metabolites and secondary metabolites.
What are primary metabolites?
Primary metabolism is like the basic routine a plant follows to stay healthy and function properly. It involves creating essential substances that the plant needs to live, just like we need food and water. These include things like sugars (carbohydrates), fats (lipids), building blocks for proteins (amino acids), components for the plant's genetic material (nucleic acids), and vitamins. Just like a chef follows a recipe, plants use special proteins called enzymes, guided by their genetic blueprint, to make these vital substances.
What are secondary metabolites?
Secondary metabolites are special substances that plants make, not for their basic survival, but to get an edge in nature. Think of them as the plant's secret weapons or superpowers. They help plants in various ways, like attracting pollinators for reproduction, fighting off germs, or stopping insects and animals from eating them. These substances are made using simple building blocks, like sugars and the basic components of proteins, in a series of complex steps. Essentially, plants use these secondary metabolites to thrive and outdo others in their environment.
How are secondary metabolites important to our health?
As a medical ethnobotanist, I am particularly interested in the range of secondary metabolites produced by plants. These compounds can be either poisonous or medicinal, and sometimes they are both! Take, for instance, the incredible aroma released after crushing a mint leaf, which is due to the presence of the metabolite menthol. Or consider the intensely bitter flavor of certain foods or beverages, like the caffeine found in coffee beans and kola nuts.
Just like animals, plants are at risk of infection by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, many plants have developed defense molecules that allow them to fight off these infections. In many traditional medicine systems, plants form the basis of the pharmacopoeia, or collection of medicines. This is for a good reason! Through generations of trial and error, traditional healers have identified which plants are effective in combating infection. Later, with the development of modern pharmaceuticals, these plant remedies have often inspired the discovery of individual compounds with potent antimicrobial properties. A prime example is the antimalarial drug artemisinin, which had been used for thousands of years in plant medicine to treat malaria symptoms before its most active secondary metabolite was isolated and transformed into a pharmaceutical medicine.
How to read the language of nature?
Today, scientists have many tools at their disposal to understand the language of plant secondary metabolites, and we're improving at this each year! I previously wrote about this in the Wall Street Journal article “Hunting for Medicines Hidden in Plants”. Each of these specialized techniques from chemistry provides different ways for scientists to decode the complexity of nature's language. In case you missed it, take a look at our latest technological advancements in determining structures through ArrayED (a new high-throughput method using MicroED technology).
The Takeaway
The next time you are in a natural setting, take a moment to carefully observe the scents and colors of the plants around you. Patiently watch the insects, birds, and mammals as they scurry towards or away from different plant species. The power of observation is incredible; through it, we can develop a better understanding and appreciation for the natural world and our place in it.
Yours in health, Dr. Quave
Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D. is a scientist, author, speaker, podcast host, wife, mother, explorer, and professor at Emory University School of Medicine. She teaches college courses and leads a group of research scientists studying medicinal plants to find new life-saving drugs from nature. She hosts the Foodie Pharmacology podcast and writes the Nature’s Pharmacy newsletter to share the science behind natural medicines. To support her effort, consider a paid or founding subscription, with founding members receiving an autographed 1st edition hardcover copy of her book, The Plant Hunter.
Available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and e-book formats!
