Natural Products

Organic compounds isolated and extracted from the body of naturally existing organisms are collectively known as natural products. They are formed through photosynthesis and biochemical reaction inside the bodies of animals and plants. For example, starch comes from the seeds, stems and roots block of plants; meat, dairy products, eggs and cereals, beans are the basic source of protein; many drugs such as ephedrine, menthol and gall bladder are extracted from the corresponding organisms; indigo blue dye, red dye alizarin are respectively extracted from natural indigo leafs and madder; natural spices musk, jasmine, and rose also originate from the corresponding animal and plant body.

The Chengdu Institute of Biology (Chinese academy of sciences) had promoted the research aspects of the natural products from the early 1960s, starting large-scale resources investigation of plants, amphibians, reptiles and microorganisms, mastering a lot of biological resources information in the southwest and the surrounding area. In the research aspect of active ingredients of natural medicinal plant, people have carried out research on the chemical constituents of hundreds of medicinal plants, isolating and identifying of a number of natural chemical components such as saponins, terpenoids, alkaloids, and flavonoids. Through this, people have further found over 100 kinds of novel natural compounds of some new structural skeleton and successfully developed a new herbal drug “DAXXK” for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. It has achieved good sales around the country with a total output value of 2.7 billion yuan and profits of 1.1 billion.

---