the "fingerprinting" of all plants, fungi and bacteria found in the United Kingdom is being developed by Molecular Nature Limited (mnl) , a subsidiary of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, to assess their potential in developing new drugs. The company plans to compile a unique reference library categorising novel or rare compounds found in plants.
If fingerprinting reveals the presence of such chemicals they will be isolated, purified and assessed for their suitability in developing new medicines, animal health products, food additives and crop protection-agents. It is hoped that such expertise will enable new high-value crops to be introduced for uk farmers. "Hitherto, much attention has been focussed on tropical plants as sources of new natural products but more recently, temperate plants have provided most of the commercially valuable compounds that have been identified. These include etoposide, the anti-cancer agent from Podophyllum spp - a hardy green flower; artemisia annua (anti-malarial agent) from mugwort and Taxol now used to treat ovarian cancer which comes from yew trees," said Maria Injs Chicarelli-Robinson.
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