About the group
BioNatH is a research group where pharmacognosy plays a central role. Pharmacognosy is a unique discipline within pharmacy that deals with drugs derived from organisms such as plants, fungi, and microbes. BioNatH is the only research group within pharmacognosy in Norway.
Nature has always been the most important source of medicine for humans. Living organisms have a unique ability to synthesize complex chemical molecules that have proven to be beneficial to humans, both as part of food and as medicinal substances. Today, more than half of all drugs on the market are either derived from nature, derivatives of natural compounds, or have a structure that resembles a natural compound. Additionally, large portions of the world's population still use plants in the treatment or prevention of diseases. BioNatH aims to contribute to a greater understanding and knowledge of natural compounds and medicinal plants that can have medicinal effects and/or contribute to improved health effects.
The research group contributes towards the following United Nations’ (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals:
Projects
Our research focuses on the isolation, analyses, and structural elucidation of bioactive compounds obtained from plants and fungi. We conduct studies on both indigenous Norwegian species and species through international collaborative projects. We primarily investigate two main types of natural products, polysaccharides and phenolic low molecular compounds, and their immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory responses.
Resources
BioNatH has instrumentation and resources for extraction, fractionation, isolation, and structural elucidation of natural products, including both high- and low-molecular weight compounds. We have facilities for cell-based assays, and methodology for antioxidant tests and enzyme inhibition.
Extraction:
- Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE)
- Soxhlet
Chromatography:
- Biotage® Selekt
- CA-TLC, kromatotron
- GC
- GC-MS
- HPLC-DAD
- HPLC-UV-VIS
- Preparative HPLC-UV
- HPLC-RI
- HPAEC-PAD
Methodologies:
- Carbohydrate analyses
- Antioxidant analyses
- Cell-based immune assays
