What is it that you need to do to make sure your body receives only the best and safest nutritional supplements? A natural supplement is a non-toxic, medicinal substance or chemical made by an organism living in nature (in the broadest sense, including plants, animals, and humans). In its most basic sense, natural products also include any material produced by living things. These can be in the form of water, air, land, and other naturally occurring elements.

There are two major classes of natural products. The first class are life-based; that is, substances that are produced in or by living organisms. The second class are synthetic life-based products. Synthetic pharmaceuticals are designed to mimic the effect of a natural product that has not been standardized or approved by FDA for commercialization. Two examples of life-based natural products are cholesterol-lowering medications and cancer drugs.

The second major class of synthetic organic chemists are microbiology researchers. Their research addresses the chemical and biological activities of microorganisms. Most microbiologists do not work in biotechnological facilities, as these scientists do not have a business interest in how synthetic organic chemists synthesize their chemical entities. These scientists also do not study structural diversity, metabolic processes, or antibiotic activity. Instead, they are concerned with understanding how microbes grow, develop, and utilize their natural products.

Structural diversity refers to the structural makeup of organisms, such as yeast and bacterial cells. It is the composition of DNA, RNA, and protein molecules that produces the variations that are seen in natural products. Proteolytic enzymes play an important role in structuring proteins. These enzymes digest the food particles that the microorganism needs to construct its proteins. They produce specific types of peptides, and their activity is what drives the development of all types of diseases.

The third major group of scientists studying natural products are those studying microbial membranes. Merely considering the actions of natural products on natural membrane-bound systems (such as bacteriology studies) is therefore only part of the total picture. In addition to studying the physical properties of the molecules, these scientists also need to know how these molecules interact with one another and how these interactions affect the membranes they occupy. This includes understanding how to manipulate the natural products to act in ways other than their conventional self, and it involves the study of the effects of these products have on the molecular structures of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.

The synthesis of Nobel prize winning compounds is a remarkable example of science at its best. Science has so much more to offer the public than the spectacular claims made by some of the more popular television shows. These television shows tend to focus on the exciting and life-changing revelations of today’s research and have little else to contribute. By contrast, the scientists who developed the human pappilloma virus and other viruses that we know about through the Nobel prize-winning study, have been tireless researchers throughout their lifetimes.