FACULTY
- Department
- Department of Pharmacy
- Laboratory
- Natural Products Chemistry Laboratory
- Field of Study
- Chemistry
- Degree
- Doctor (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
History
Graduate School/University, etc.
1987 Graduated from Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyoto University 1992 Completed Second Term Doctoral Course, Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate School, Kyoto University
Why I Became a Researcher
I liked science since I was in elementary school and thought that I wanted to be a scientist, if possible. For university, I entered the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, which somehow felt promising to me. I was impressed by the words of a teacher that I heard in a liberal arts course at university, who said, "You’ll earn your credits for my lecture even if you don’t show up, so if you want to become a researcher, create your own world." After that, I decided to move forward along the path of a researcher. For my university lab, I chose one that could allow me to create my own world, a lab that researches medicinal plants, and then I began researching Glycyrrhiza plants from my fourth year of university. When I was a graduate student, I had the opportunity to stay in Turkey for two months to study the natural habitat of Glycyrrhiza plants. Also, after completing my doctoral course, I studied abroad in Germany and learned gene analysis methods. Based on these two experiences, I have moved forward with research on Glycyrrhiza plants.
Research Information
Research Area and Theme
Analysis and Application of Medicinal Plant Diversity
I will clarify the diversity of medicinal plants through natural habitat field surveys, cultivation, component analysis, component isolation and structure determination, genetic analysis, etc., of medicinal plants, and I will also conduct drug discovery research using ingredients that include a variety of components.
Thoughts on Research Theme
I have been using Glycyrrhiza plants, which are important medicinal plants, as research materials to conduct field surveys in their natural habitats in Central Asia and other parts of the world. I am proud to have the world's number one collection of Glycyrrhiza plants. Recently, I have added Ephedra plants collected in Tajikistan as research materials, and I would like to clarify the mechanism of biosynthesis for various components found in medicinal plants through a broad range of research including the cultivation of a variety of plant lines, component isolation and structure determination of plants collected in their natural habitat and plant lines obtained through cultivation, and even biosynthesis of useful components using molecular biological methods. Additionally, through joint research with companies and other laboratories, we hope to proceed with research to find new physiological activity from among the various components of Glycyrrhiza plants and Ephedra plants.
Message to Students
I want you to experience many different things in my laboratory, from plant cultivation to various instrumental analysis, compound isolation and structure determination, as well as genetic research
In the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, you will learn pharmacy, a broad-ranging field based on chemistry, physics, and biology. Within pharmacy, natural product chemistry is the study of naturally derived compounds with complex structures, and to memorize the structures of these compounds, it is helpful to understand the “biosynthetic pathway” in which these compounds are produced. Some of these naturally derived compounds are used as pharmaceuticals and are also important as functional ingredients in foods and other products. In my courses, I would like to lecture not only on the chemical aspects of these compounds that include everything from their structure to biosynthesis, but also on their economic aspects, such as supply methods and applications, in addition to pharmacological actions and clinical use-cases of these compounds. I would like students who have been assigned to my laboratory to experience many different things, from plant cultivation to various instrumental analysis, compound isolation and structure determination, as well as genetic research.