SECONDARY METABOLITES

1. SECONDARY
METABOLITES
SUBJECT: Pharmacognosy
COURSE: B Pharmacy IV SEM
FACULTY NAME: Dr Manisha Bhatia
Associate professor
MMCP,MMU, Mullana

2. • PRIMARY METABOLITES: Molecules that are essential for
growth and development of an organism. Examples:
• 1.Carbohydrates 2.Proteins 3.Lipids
• 4.Nucleic acids 5.Hormones
• SECONDARY METABOLITES: Molecules that are not
essential for growth and development of an organism and are
biosynthetically derived from primary metabolites. They are
more limited in distribution being found usually in specific
families.

3. • Secondary metabolites are those metabolites which are often
produced in a phase of subsequent to growth, have no
function in growth (although they may have survival function),
are produced by certain restricted taxonomic groups of
microorganisms, have unusual chemicals structures, and are
often formed as mixtures of closely related members of a
chemical family.
• The simplest definition of secondary products is that they are
not generally included in standard metabolic charts.
• Plants produce a large, diverse array of organic compounds
that appear to have no direct function in growth, development,
photosynthesis, respiration, solute transport, translocation,
protein synthesis, nutrient assimilation differentiation, or the
formation of carbohydrates called as secondary metabolites.

4. • Thus small organic molecules produced by an organism that
are not essential for their growth, development and
reproduction are called secondary metabolites.
• They may include pharmaceuticals, flavours, fragrance, food
additives, feedstock etc. Possibly over 250,000 secondary
metabolites in plants.
• Classified based on common biosynthetic pathways where a
chemical is derived.
• Four major classes: Alkaloids, glycosides, phenolics,
terpenoids

5. • Higher plants synthesize these wide variety of low molecular
weight compounds called secondary metabolites in addition to
the essential primary metabolites.
• These offer protection against pests, they act as attractants
and as the plant’s own hormones. Chemically meant to
protect plants from the attacks by predators, pathogens, or
competitors.
• Attract pollinators as seed dispersal agent
• Important for abiotic stress
• Medicine
• Industrial additives

6. • A metabolic intermediate or product, found as a differentiation
product in restricted taxonomic groups, not essential to growth
and the life of the producing organism, and biosynthesis from
one or more general metabolites by a wider variety of
pathways than is available in general metabolism.
• They have a wide range of chemical structures and biological
activities. They are derived by unique biosynthetic pathways
from primary metabolites and intermediates.
• These biochemical pathways are not necessary for growth or
reproduction of an organism, but which can be demonstrated
genetically, physiologically or biochemically.

7. • Plants produce an amazing diversity of low molecular weight
compounds.
• The ability to synthesize secondary metabolites has been
selected through the course of evolution in different plant
lineage when such compounds address specific needs.
• Floral scent volatiles and pigments have evolved to attract
insect pollinators and thus enhance fertilization.
• To synthesize toxic chemical has evolved to ward off
pathogens and herbivores or to suppress the growth of
neighboring plants.

8. • Chemicals found in fruits prevent spoilage and act as signals
(in the form of color, aroma, and flavor) of the presence of
potential rewards (sugars, vitamins and flavor) for animals
that eat the fruit and thereby help to disperse the seeds.
• Other chemicals serve cellular functions that are unique to the
particular plant in which they occur (e.g. resistance to salt or
drought).

9. • Primary metabolism
• The biological reactions are essential to maintain life in living
organisms and are known as primary metabolism.
• Plant convert sunlight energy to chemical energy, such as
ATP, NADPH, by the mediation of chlorophyll in chloroplasts
and synthesize sugars and starch from CO2 by using ATP
and NADPH+.
• These carbohydrates are stored and used for differentiation
and formation of plant tissues.

10. • All organisms need to transform and interconvert a vast
number of organic compounds to enable them to live, grow
and reproduce.
• All organisms need to provide themselves with energy in the
form of ATP, and a supply of building blocks to construct their
own tissues.
• An integrated network of enzyme-mediated and carefully
regulated chemical reactions in used for this purpose,
collectively referred to as intermediary metabolism, and the
pathways involved are termed metabolic pathway.
• These processes demonstrate the fundamental unity of all
living matter, and are collectively described as primary
metabolism, with the compounds involved in pathways being
termed primary metabolites.

11. • Secondary metabolism
• The metabolism which are not directly related to maintaining
life, are known as secondary metabolism.
• The products formed by secondary metabolism are called
secondary metabolites.
• Secondary metabolite play a role in reinforcement of tissue
and body (e.g. cellulose, lignin, suberin), protection against
insects, diseases, and plant regulation (plant hormones).

12. • The compounds which synthesized from the secondary
metabolisms are so-called secondary metabolites.
• Secondary metabolites are formed in only specific organisms,
or groups of organisms, and are expression of the individuality
of species.
• Secondary metabolites are not necessarily produced under all
conditions, and in the vast majority of cases the function of
these compounds and their benefit to the organism is not yet
known.
• It is this area of secondary metabolism that provides most of
the pharmacologically active natural products.

13. • They are classified on the basis of:
• 1) chemical structure
• 2) chemical composition
• 3) solubility in various solvents
• 4) pathways by which they are synthesized

14. • A simple classification of secondary metabolites includes
three main groups:
• 1) the terpenes- made from mevalonic acid, composed almost
entirely of carbon and hygrogen
• 2) phenolics – made from simple sugars, containing benzene
rings, hydrogen and oxygen
• 3) nitrogen-containing compounds – extremely diverse, may
also contain sulphur