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Natural Products Drug Discovery Chemistry Lab
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The lab searches for plant natural products, synthesizes them, and connects them to pharmaceuticals.
AboutAbout the lab
Finding natural products, making them, and bringing them to medicine.
The Natural Products Drug Discovery Chemistry Lab, grounded in organic chemistry, conducts research that searches for natural products, synthesizes them, and connects them to pharmaceuticals.
Natural products are organic compounds made by living organisms, and many drugs to date have been discovered among them.
Alongside searching nature for new compounds, the lab carries out total synthesis of rare natural products by combining its own original reactions.
Since its founding in 1962, the lab has consistently carried out chemical research on plant alkaloids.
Key terms
- Total synthesis
- Building a complex molecule found in nature from simple, readily available starting materials through chemical reactions
- Alkaloid
- A family of nitrogen-containing compounds made mainly by plants. Many have strong biological activity
- Derivative
- A compound with a closely similar structure, made by chemically altering part of an original compound
NewsLab news
A master's student received a Student Poster Award at the 5th International Symposium on Process Chemistry
A doctoral student received a Poster Presentation Award at Souyaku Konwakai (Drug Discovery Forum) 2026 in Yugawara
The lab succeeded in the total synthesis of bisleuconothine A and bousigonine B, natural products found in plants
A student received a Student Excellent Presentation Award at the 146th Annual Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan
A student received an Excellent Presentation Award at the undergraduate thesis presentation session of the Department of Pharmacy
ResearchResearch themes
The lab regards natural products in nature as a treasure trove of compounds that can serve as starting points for drugs, and uses the power of organic chemistry to bring out their potential. It has three goals: searching for new biologically active compounds, total synthesis through its own original reactions, and biological research using the synthesized natural products.
*Illustrative imageSearching nature for new biologically active compounds
Only a very small fraction of natural products have had their biological activity studied in detail, and some compounds that no one has ever seen are still waiting to be found. The lab aims to discover new biologically active compounds from nature.
*Illustrative imageTotal synthesis of natural products through original reactions
Almost no natural products can be supplied in large quantities from natural resources. The lab develops and combines its own original reactions to efficiently carry out total synthesis (supply) of rare natural products from commercially available petroleum-based raw materials.
*Illustrative imageBiological research and drug discovery using natural products
Using synthesized natural products and their derivatives, the lab advances biological research, leading to a better understanding of how living organisms work and to the development of new pharmaceuticals.
*Illustrative imageBuilding a natural product library
The lab is organizing the natural products it has accumulated over many years into a library for examining biological activity. Through collaborations within the university, it is advancing biological activity screening, with the aim of creating drugs that originate from the lab.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Natural Products Drug Discovery Chemistry Lab are faculty and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorHayato Ishikawa
- Associate ProfessorMariko Kitajima
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Picture from an organic chemistry laboratory” Sil.d / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Searching nature for new biologically active compounds: “Papaya medicinal plant” Prathvi Acharya / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Total synthesis of natural products through original reactions: “Laboratory vacuum distillation apparatus on a benchtop” KiveVictor / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Biological research and drug discovery using natural products: “Greek drug discovery” Oargyros / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Building a natural product library: “Reagent bottle” Srini297 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (薬化学): “Student in University of Washington chemistry laboratory , ca 1925 (MOHAI 6219)” Webster & Stevens / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (遺伝子資源応用): “Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden - IMG 7240” Daderot / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (薬品合成化学): “Molecular model of the pre-pore form of a MACPF protein based upon the structure of pneunolysin” Jcwhizz at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (分子機能化学): “Molecular Modeling” derivative work: Dhatfield (talk) MM_PEF.svg: Edboas / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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