Visiting International Scholar
Dr. L. Pierre Luhata, SJ
Research Term: Summer 2025
Email: luhata@gonzaga.edu
Research Summary
Isolation and characterization of bioactive secondary metabolites from local medicinal plants.
Project Description:
Plant natural products have always played an important role in the discovery of new medicines (e.g. Aspirin commercially offered in 1899). Active phytochemicals have been identified in many families in the plant kingdom. Secondary metabolites exhibit a large spectrum of biological activities, including antimicrobial, antifungal and cytotoxicity against human cancer cells. In fact, most small molecule drugs on the market (51%), drugs approved between 1981-2014, have natural product origins (Newman, D. J., and Cragg, G. M.; J. Nat. Prod. 2016, 79, 629-661).
The starting point in the search for potentially useful compounds from plants is the detection of bioactive metabolites (Sarker et al., Methods in Biotechnology: Natural Products Isolation, 2nd ed. 2006, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ). Folklore medicine can be an advantageous starting point as it has already selected groups of plants that time and experience have shown to be beneficial. Students will learn techniques involved in the identification of active ingredients in plants; mainly, various forms of extraction, chromatography, and spectroscopy.
The Democratic Republic of Congo, with its rich fauna and flora (second largest forest after Amazonia), is a big discovery resource for medicinal plants. However, there is a dearth of phytochemical knowledge on many herbal medicines; due, in large part, to a lack of laboratory facilities, qualified scientists, and financial support.
The main objective of this project (course) is to introduce students to the different techniques used to isolate and characterize active molecules of plant origin in addition to the generation of new knowledge with potential medicinal benefit.
Dr. Luhata's