,Question 1
,A research team investigates a plant traditionally used by a community
to relieve inflammatory symptoms. The researchers want to determine
whether the plant contains a compound that could serve as the starting
point for developing a new medicine. Which approach is most
appropriate?
A. Assume that long-standing traditional use establishes the plant's
efficacy and safety.
B. Prepare a standardized extract, evaluate its biological activity using
appropriate assays, and investigate the active constituents.
C. Select the most abundant chemical in the plant and classify it as the
active therapeutic agent.
D. Begin clinical testing immediately because the plant has a history of
human use.
Correct Answer: B. Prepare a standardized extract, evaluate its
biological activity using appropriate assays, and investigate the active
constituents.
Rationale: A systematic drug-discovery process can use traditional
medicinal knowledge to identify promising starting materials.
Standardized extracts and biological assays help researchers evaluate
activity reproducibly before identifying and characterizing potentially
active compounds.
• A is incorrect: Traditional use can provide valuable research leads,
but it does not establish efficacy for a particular indication or
exclude toxicity, interactions, and variability in preparation.
, • B is correct: This approach combines a potentially useful source of
pharmacologically active substances with controlled experimental
investigation.
• C is incorrect: A compound's abundance does not establish its
biological activity. A less abundant constituent may account for
most of the observed effect.
• D is incorrect: Prior human use does not automatically establish
the safety, quality, dosage, or efficacy of a newly characterized
extract or isolated compound.
Question 2
Researchers obtain an extract from a medicinal plant and find that it
inhibits the growth of cultured cancer cells. What is the most
appropriate interpretation of this initial finding?
A. The extract is an effective cancer treatment in humans.
B. The extract has demonstrated a favorable therapeutic index.
C. The extract shows preliminary biological activity that requires further
investigation.
D. Every constituent of the extract has anticancer activity.
Correct Answer: C. The extract shows preliminary biological activity that
requires further investigation.
Rationale: An in vitro finding is an early screening result. Further work is
needed to determine which constituent or constituents are responsible,
whether the effect is reproducible and selective, and whether it can be
achieved safely in a living organism.
,A research team investigates a plant traditionally used by a community
to relieve inflammatory symptoms. The researchers want to determine
whether the plant contains a compound that could serve as the starting
point for developing a new medicine. Which approach is most
appropriate?
A. Assume that long-standing traditional use establishes the plant's
efficacy and safety.
B. Prepare a standardized extract, evaluate its biological activity using
appropriate assays, and investigate the active constituents.
C. Select the most abundant chemical in the plant and classify it as the
active therapeutic agent.
D. Begin clinical testing immediately because the plant has a history of
human use.
Correct Answer: B. Prepare a standardized extract, evaluate its
biological activity using appropriate assays, and investigate the active
constituents.
Rationale: A systematic drug-discovery process can use traditional
medicinal knowledge to identify promising starting materials.
Standardized extracts and biological assays help researchers evaluate
activity reproducibly before identifying and characterizing potentially
active compounds.
• A is incorrect: Traditional use can provide valuable research leads,
but it does not establish efficacy for a particular indication or
exclude toxicity, interactions, and variability in preparation.
, • B is correct: This approach combines a potentially useful source of
pharmacologically active substances with controlled experimental
investigation.
• C is incorrect: A compound's abundance does not establish its
biological activity. A less abundant constituent may account for
most of the observed effect.
• D is incorrect: Prior human use does not automatically establish
the safety, quality, dosage, or efficacy of a newly characterized
extract or isolated compound.
Question 2
Researchers obtain an extract from a medicinal plant and find that it
inhibits the growth of cultured cancer cells. What is the most
appropriate interpretation of this initial finding?
A. The extract is an effective cancer treatment in humans.
B. The extract has demonstrated a favorable therapeutic index.
C. The extract shows preliminary biological activity that requires further
investigation.
D. Every constituent of the extract has anticancer activity.
Correct Answer: C. The extract shows preliminary biological activity that
requires further investigation.
Rationale: An in vitro finding is an early screening result. Further work is
needed to determine which constituent or constituents are responsible,
whether the effect is reproducible and selective, and whether it can be
achieved safely in a living organism.
