|
Natural Products
Natural compounds found in plants, animals, and microorganisms are
synthesized via biochemical processes that allow formation of only one racemic form of the
molecule: the form that the cell can use. Moreover, the compounds are used along with other
compounds within the cell in a balanced form: all the molecules in the cell are available in the
form and quantities needed. A natural product, such as carrot or broccoli, has not only the right
forms of vitamins that the body can use but also molecules that enhance the utilization of the
vitamins. Natural vitamin products do not have the racemization problems of synthetic products
and can be adequately bioavailable to the cells of the body.
Synthetic Compounds
A compound is generally termed "synthetic" when it is prepared in
the laboratory from its basic composing elements excluding any intervention by biological systems
(animals, plants, microorganisms, or their molecules). Theoretically, after an analytical
determination of the composing elements and the chemical structure, a compound could be
synthesized in the laboratory. Chemically, the synthetic compound will be the same as the
biological molecule used as a template to design it.
|
|
