About

Synthetic  and  Natural product chemistry is a vast and important area which covers almost the entire chemistry discipline and has been continued to get explored from long before. The classifications in natural product chemistry are numerous. The occurrence of natural products was realized in the early 19 th  century when the organic compounds derived from natural sources were considered. The chemical synthesis of urea by Wöhler was the initiating phase in natural product synthesis.

Organic chemists were captivated with the area of natural products resulting in the evolution and spectacular progression in this field over the past two centuries. The vigorous exploitation of natural products has identified its potential to play an essential role in drug discovery and chemical biology. Natural product chemistry has obvious contributions in the progression of the chemical and biological sciences along with the interdisciplinary domains. It has novel applications in bio-medical, health, nutrition, cosmetics and other interrelated scientific areas along with certain emerging trends which have proved it to be a unique and thrust area of research. Natural products have a prominent role in drug discovery. It is classified into two major class namely primary and secondary metabolites. Primary metabolites are essential for the survival of the organism. Secondary metabolites mainly affect other organisms than the producers and are not required for survival. Secondary metabolites have a broad range involving pheromones which function efficiently for social signaling with individuals of similar species. The categories of secondary metabolite mainly include alkaloids,  phenylpropanoids ,  polyketides , and  terpenoids .

Synthetic chemistry also plays an important role in advancement of various sectors in the scientific world. Synthetic modifications of natural products can alter the property and activity of compounds drastically. Above all the synthesis of novel scaffolds apart from natural products can open up a new avenue in science and technology. Thus, natural combined with synthetic approach provides a complete scenario in the area of science and technology.