Abstract
dc:description.abstractThis thesis examines two interrelated aspects of natural product research: the discovery and biological evaluation of plant-derived specialized metabolites as potential drug leads, and the verification of their botanical sources to ensure chemical and taxonomic accuracy. It comprises three publications. The first is a literature review of structure-dependent activity among plant-derived compounds active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). It links reported antibacterial activities to structural features, identifies molecular motifs associated with anti-MRSA efficacy, and proposes lead structures for further investigation. The second reports the isolation of flavonoids and sesquiterpene lactones from Lychnophora ericoides, a plant used in traditional medicine, and their evaluation against multiple myeloma and acute myeloid leukemia cell lines. Several compounds show first evidence of cytotoxic activity, exemplifying the classical natural product drug discovery workflow of species selection, isolation, structure elucidation, and bioassay. The third addresses source verification in pharmacognosy. It demonstrates that furanocoumarins previously reported from Cicerbita alpina originated instead from Peucedanum ostruthium roots present in a mixed plant collection, correcting the phytochemical record and preventing the misattribution of a potentially harmful compound class to a species consumed in the Italian Alps. Together, the three publications illustrate the interdependence of chemical structure, biological activity, and biological origin in natural product research, and underscore the need for rigorous taxonomic and chemical authentication alongside bioactivity-guided discovery.
Degree
thesis:*- Level thesis:degree_level
- thesis.doctoral
- Grantor dc:publisher
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
- Year
- 2026
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Moreno Cardenas, Calisto
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Zidorn, Christian
- Çiçek, Serhat Sezai
Subjects
dc:subject × 9Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Repository record source_url
- https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/macau_mods_00008842
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:macau.uni-kiel.de:macau_mods_00008842