Beth rootGUESS WHAT HAPPENED ?Russel Earl MarkerPHARMACOLOGY OF STEROID COMPOUNDSPHARMACOLOGY OF STEROID COMPOUNDSPHARMACOLOGY OF STEROID COMPOUNDSPHARMACOLOGY OF STEROID COMPOUNDSNorthethindrone FamilyDesogestrel& NorgestimateDefinitions of DosePotencyNew ProgestinsFormulationsMechanism of ActionMechanism of ActionEfficacy of Oral ContraceptivesDavid Wagner - Package DesignerThe PackageDavid WagnerThe InventorPercent Pregnant in 1 YearPackage InsertBenefits of OCRisks of Death(Various Fun Things)Photos removed due to copyright reasons.TIARELLA CORDIFOLIA CoolwortTRILLIUM ERECTUM Beth RootTUSSILAGO FARFARA Colt’s FootTILIA SPECIES LindenTROLLIUS EUROPEAUS Globe FlowerURTICA DIOICA NettleHarvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and TechnologyHST.071: Human Reproductive BiologyCourse Director: Professor Henry KlapholzBeth root•Common Names/Synonyms - Birth Root, Wake Robin, Nodding Wakerobin, Indian Shamrock, Lamb's Quarters, Indian Balm, Ground Lily, Cough Root, Jew's Harp Plant, Milk Ipecac, Pariswort,Rattlesnake Root, Snakebite, Three-Leaved Nightshade, Trillium. •Description - Beth Root is an herbaceous perennial which grows in rich soils and shady woods of the central and western United States and grows to a height of 40cm. The simple stem arises from an oblong, tuberous rootstock and bears at the top a whorl of three round-ovate acuminate leaves. In May and June a single yellow-white to reddish-white flower appears above the leaves. It grows in rich woodland in the central and western states of the USA. Trilliums are remarkable in that the leaves and flower petals are always in 3's. •Properties/Uses - Astringent, antihaemorrhagic (with particular action on the female reproductive system), mild expectorant, uterine tonic, antiseptic, diaphoretic, emmenagogue. Beth Root contains a natural precursor of the female sex hormones, which the body may utilize or not, thereby having a normalizing effect. It is used for menorrhagia and metrorrhagia and against complications arising during labor, including post-partum hemorrhage. It is considered to be a specific for excessive blood loss associated with menopausal changes, and is a palliative remedy for blood loss from the urinary tract. It is also used to treat coughs, bronchial problems and pulmonary hemorrhage, as well as gastro-intestinal bleeding, diarrhea and dysentery. The underlying causes of any blood loss should be treated with the appropriate remedies. Beth Root may be administered as a douche for leucorrhoea or as a poultice or ointment for varicose and other ulcers. As a poultice or salve it is an effective application for insect bites and stings. •Cautions - No side effects or contraindications with normal use.z Plants - major impact on modern medicine- providing important steroidsz Cortisone originally had to be obtained from animalsz For example, in 1935 chemists were isolating cortisone from bile acids in the urine of oxenz Elaborate chemical procedures, involving 38 steps, were then required to make important human steroidsz In 1938, a gram of natural cortisone was worth $100 (1938 dollars!)z For many years ethnobotanists* had known that certain plants had been used by primitive peoples as fish poisons, soaps, and shampoosz Produce foam in water and are called saponins, which are steroidsz Saponin destroys red blood cells on contactz Causes the fish to be stunned and then float to the surfacez Fish are not poisonous to humans when eaten.z Some of these saponin-bearing plants were also used by societies as oral contraceptivesz Mexico and Central America: several plants were taken to stop female ovulationz Matto Grosso Indian women in Brazil took plant products daily to prevent pregnancy*Study of plants used by primitive peoplez Russell Marker - biochemist interested in plantsz 1939 - published a study on sarsasapogenin– saponin in Smilax used to make sarsaparillaz 1940 - published studies on diosgenin, a saponin* isolated from a Mexican yam species of the genus Dioscoreaz Synthesized the human hormone testosterone in eight stepsz Progesterone in just five stepsz Made plans to use yams for mass production of human steroids,z Proposals rejected by the pharmaceutical companiesz 1942 - Marker got an indefinite separation from his wife– Went to live in Mexico– Set up a laboratory in his room– Made steroids from yams– Worked round-the-clock for several weeks to make progesterone– Offered the progesterone for sale to a businessman in Mexico City– Businessman offered him $80 per gram*Surfactant glycosideGUESS WHAT HAPPENED ?z Marker handed him two kilograms of the stuff ($160,000), which he had produced in two weeksz A company called Syntex was then organized to make steroids from Mexican yams, using the syntheses invented by Markerz After a while Marker left the company, but he left also with the secret of a crucial step in the processz Syntex hired Dr. George Rosenkranz, who went to Mexico and figured out the missing stepz Rosenkranz took yams and was able to make progesterone then testosterone, and finally the female hormone estronez Rosenkranz is credited with the saying"Adam goes into the test tube and Eve comes out."z All of this work in Mexico occurred while major pharmaceutical companies in the United States were trying to make several grams of hydrocortisone from the adrenal glands of 2,200,000 hogsz Marker made another important discovery - identified a yam saponincalled botogenin– Has an oxygen located at the carbon-12 position– Upjohn chemists used microorganisms to convert this compound into a useful form– Could easily move the oxygen to the C-11 position– Opened the door for advanced cortico-steroidsz About 66 pounds of fresh yams could yield one pound of diosgenin and two ounces of cortisonez In the 1960s, a gram of cortisone cost two dollars to producez At this cheap price the industry could produce cortisones, human sex hormones, and human steroids inexpensively and also produces huge profitsz This was the start of inexpensive oral contraceptives, fertility drugs, and a wide assortment of cortisone drugsRussel Earl Markerz The Marker Lectures were established in 1984 through a gift fromthe late Russell Earl Marker, professor emeritus of organic chemistry at Penn State, whose pioneering synthetic methods revolutionized the steroid-hormone industry and opened the door to the current era of hormone therapies, including the birth-control pill. The Marker endowment allows the Penn