Drug Discovery

Plants produce an amazing spectrum of natural products, many of which are either important drug compounds today or provided the clues to development of new drugs. My activities in this field are in collaboration with several natural products chemists, including Dr. Joseph Hoffmann, Office of Arid Lands Studies, Dr. Leslie Gunatilaka, Office of Arid Lands Studies, and Dr. Barbara Timmermann, College of Pharmacy. Sponsors of this research have included private pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health.

My contribution to this research is in the procurement of plant materials for testing and evaluation. This involves: collection and identification of plant materials for initial screening; bulk recollection of species with apparent activity; cultivation of selected plants with excellent activity; and development of networks of collaborating collectors.

These studies often result in graduate student thesis and dissertation projects aimed at identified specific compounds in plants that show particular types of activities. Publications resulting from this work include:

Jolad, S. D., J. J. Hoffmann, B. N. Timmermann, S. P. McLaughlin, R. B. Bates, F. A. Camou, and J. R. Cole. 1988. Terpenoids from Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus and A. shockleyi. Phytochemistry 27: 3197-3204.

Jolad, S. D., J. J. Hoffmann, B. N. Timmermann, R. B. Bates, F. A. Camou, and S. P. McLaughlin. 1990. Guaianolides from Pericome caudata. Phytochemistry 29: 649-652.

Jolad, S. D., J. J. Hoffmann, B. N. Timmermann, R. B. Bates, F. A. Camou, and S. P. McLaughlin. 1990. Diterpenoids and acetogenins of Blepharizonia plumosa. Phytochemistry 29: 905-910.

Wayuono, S., J. J. Hoffmann, R. B. Bates, and S. P. McLaughlin. 1991. Potential anti-infective o-catechol derivatives isolated from Guardiola platyphylla. Phytochemistry 30: 2174-2182.

Hoffmann, J. J., S. D. Jolad, L. K. Hutter, S. P. McLaughlin, S. D. Savage, S. C. Cunningham, J. Genet, and G. Ramsey. 1992. Glaucarubolone glucoside, a potential fungicidal agent for the control of grape downy mildew. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 40: 1056-1057.

Wahyuono, S., J. J. Hoffmann, and S. P. McLaughlin. 1992. Dehydrofalcarindiol, potential antimicrobial agent from Artemisia pacifica. Fitoterapia 58: 368.

Hoffmann, J. J., B. N. Timmermann, S. P. McLaughlin, and H. Punnapayak. 1993. Potential antimicrobial activity of plants from the southwestern United States. International Journal of Pharmacognosy 31: 101-115.

Valeriote, F., C. K. Grieshaber, J. Media, H. Pietraszkewicz, J. Hoffmann, M. Pan, and S. McLaughlin. 2002. Discovery and development of anticancer agents from plants. Journal of Experimental Therapeutics and Oncology 2: 228-236.