RESEARCH OVERVIEW

Since the beginning of life on earth, plants have evolved a complex arsenal of compounds that serve the purposes of protection against predators and attraction of beneficial organisms.  These plant chemicals can profoundly influence the biochemical processes within other life forms, including humans.  Because of this, there is a long history of the use of plants as medicine by peoples around the world.  Today, the use of plant-based medicines in North America is on the rise, and research focusing on botanical medicines has become increasingly important. 

Historically, drug development research has focused on the identification of a single constituent responsible for the activity of a plant that can be isolated or synthesized, then patented for the treatment of particular illnesses.  This approach has led to the discovery of a wide variety of plant-derived drugs, such as digoxin (from foxglove, Digitalis purpurea), vinblastine (from to periwinkle, Vinca minor), and taxol (from Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia).  Over the past decade, though, as the popularity of alternative medicine in the US has increased, there has been more research into the efficacy of whole plant extracts as opposed to isolated constituents.  Proponents of the use of herbal extracts suggest that their complex composition yields enhanced efficacy due to synergistic interactions among multiple components.  However, this complexity makes research correlating chemical composition of extracts with biological activity extremely challenging.  Our research addresses this problem with the use of sophisticated analytical instrumentation, which facilitates detailed characterization of the constituents of complex plant extracts.  This detailed chemical characterization, combined with various assays of biological activity, give us insight into how complex mixtures of plant compounds interact within the human body.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

1. Raner, G. M.; Cornelious, S.; Moulick, K.; Wang, Y.; Mortenson, A., Hill, J., Cunningham, C.; Cech, N. B. “Effects of Herbal Products and their constituents on Human Cytochrome P4502E1 Activity.” Food Chem. Toxicol. 2007, 45, 2359-2365.
2. Stiles, E. A.; Cech, N. B.; Dee, S. M. W.; Lacey, E. P. “Changes in floral color and anthocyanin production in Plantago lanceolata in response to temperature.” Physiol. Plant.2007, 129, 756-765.
3. Cech, N. B.; Tutor, K.; Doty, B. A.; Spelman, K.; Sasagawa, M.; Raner, G. M.; Wenner, C. A. “Liver enzyme-mediated oxidation of Echinacea purpurea alkylamides:  Production of novel metabolites and changes in immunomodulatory activity.” Planta Med.  2006, 75, 1372-1377.
4. Sasagawa, M.; Cech, N. B.; Gray, D. E.; Elmer, G. W.; Wenner, C. A. "Echinacea alkylamides inhibit interleukin-2 production by Jurkat human T cells"  Int. Immunopharm. 2006, 6/7, 1214-1221.
5. Cech, N. B.; Eleazer, M. S.; Shoffner, L. T.; Davis, A. C.; Crosswhite, M. R.; Mortenson, A. M. "High performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for simultaneous analysis of alkylamides and caffeic acid derivatives from Echinacea purpurea extracts" J. Chromatogr. A. 2006, 1103, 219-228.
6. Henriksen, T. R.; Juhler, R. K.; Svensmark, B.; Cech, N. B. "The relative influences of acidity and polarity on responsiveness of small organic molecules to analysis with negative ion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS)" J. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom. 2005, 16, 446-455.
7. Cech, N. B.; Enke, C. G. "Practical implications of some recent studies in electrospray ionization fundamentals" Rev. Mass Spectrom. 2002, 20, 362-287.