Where do most drugs originate from?

Traditionally drugs were extracted from plants and microorganisms.


Nowadays, most new drugs are synthesised by chemists in the pharmaceutical industry. However, the starting point may still be a chemical extracted from a plant.

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What does the drug 'digitalis' treat?

Heart failure.

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Which organism did digitalis originate from?

Foxglove - a type of plant.

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What type of drug is 'aspirin'?

Aspirin is a painkiller. It is also effective at reducing fevers.

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Which organism did aspirin originate from?

Willow tree.

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What type of drug is 'penicillin'?

Antibiotic.

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Which organism did penicillin originate from?

A type of fungus - specifically a mould known as Penicillium.

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Briefly outline what has to happen to new drugs before they can be prescribed to patients.

New medical drugs have to be tested and trialled before being used to check that they are safe and effective.


Specifically, they are tested for toxicity, efficacy and dose.

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Who discovered penicillin?

Alexander Fleming.

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With reference to drug testing, what does the term 'efficacy' mean?

How well a drug produces the desired effect.


For example, if it is a painkiller, its efficacy is how well it reduces pain.

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With reference to drug testing, what does the term 'toxicity' mean?

How harmful a drug is.


For example, how many side effects it has.

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With reference to drug testing, what does the term 'dosage' mean?

How much of the drug is required to give the desired effect.

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What are the different stages of drug development? 

  1. Test the drug on human cells and tissues.
  2. Test the drug on live animals.
  3. Test the drug on healthy volunteers to find the maximum dosage before side effects occur.
  4. Test the drug on patients that suffer from the relevant disease to find the optimum dosage. 

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With reference to drug testing, what is a placebo?

A placebo is a substance or treatment that looks like the real treatment, but contains no active drug.

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What does it mean for a drug trial to be 'double-blind'?

Neither the patients nor doctors know who is given the real drug and who is given the placebo (they are 'blind'). Only the researchers behind the study know. 

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Why is it important for medical trials to be double-blind?

  1. It helps to avoid any bias by the patients or researchers.
  2. If patients know they received the drug, they may be more likely to report side effects.
  3. If researchers know who has been given the real drug, they may pay closer attention to those patients and document their symptoms more carefully.
  4. The results are more likely to be valid if there is no bias. 

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