Pharmaceutical Biochemistry II(Theory)

General introduction to Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Biochemistry

Pharmacy:
The term “Pharmacy” is derived from the Greek word “Pharmacon” which means drug. It is
defined as the arts and science of preparing and evaluating drugs from natural and synthetic
sources.

Major disciplines of Pharmacy:

Major disciplines of Pharmacy are;
1 Pharmaceutics; (physical pharmacy, pharmaceutical preparation, pharmaceutical
technology, industrial pharmacy, forensic pharmacy, pharmaceutical management and
marketing, dispensing, clinical and hospital pharmacy).
2 Basic Medical Sciences; (physiology, histology, anatomy, pharmacology, pathology,
microbiology, biochemistry).
3 Pharmacognosy; (pharmacognosy and phytochemistry).
4 Pharmaceutical Chemistry; (organic chemistry, biochemistry, inorganic chemistry,
medicinal chemistry).
5 Pharmacy Practice; Pharmacy Practice deals with disease management, clinical
interventions, Drug abuse prevention, Prevention of drug-drug interactions or drug-food
interactions, Prevention of adverse events, Incompatibility, Community Pharmacy.

Biochemistry:
The term biochemistry is derived from Greek word “bios” which means life. Biochemistry is
defined as the science which deals with the chemical basis of life. It relates with the chemical
constituents of living cells as well as their reactions and other processes.

Aim of Biochemistry:
Biochemistry provides important understandings and practical applications in medicine,
agriculture, nutrition and industry. Its ultimate concern is with the wonder of life itself. Aim
of Biochemistry is
1. To explain biological structure and function in chemical terms.
2. To provide a complete understanding of all of the chemical processes associated with
living cells at the molecular level.

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3. To isolate the several molecules found in cells by using salt fractionation,

chromatography, electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation.
 Salt fractionation is precipitation of proteins with ammonium sulfate.
 Chromatography are of many types e.g. paper chromatography, ion exchange
chromatography, affinity chromatography, thin layer chromatography, gas liquid
chromatography, high pressure liquid chromatography, gel filtration chromatography.
 Electrophoresis techniques are of many types e.g. paper, high voltage, agarose,
cellulose acetate, starch gel, polyacrylamide gel, SDS-polyacrylamide gel.
 Ultracentrifugation is the separation of liquid phase from solid phase at high speed.
4 To determine the structures of several molecules by using elemental analysis,
spectroscopy, x-rays crystallography.
 Elemental analysis is done for quantification of carbon, hydrogen nitrogen and
sulphur.
 Spectroscopy is done by using UV, visible, infrared and NMR spectroscopy.
 X-rays crystallography is done for the study of three dimensional arrangements of the
atoms.

Importance of Biochemistry:
1 Knowledge of biochemistry is important for all life sciences because life depends on
biochemical reactions and processes.
2 Knowledge of biochemistry is important for pharmaceutical sciences i.e. for physiology,
immunology, pharmacology, toxicology, pathology etc.
 Physiology is the study of body function; it overlaps with biochemistry almost
completely.
 Immunology uses various biochemical techniques.
 Pharmacology is based upon a sound knowledge of biochemistry and physiology.
 Toxicology is the study of effects of poisons on biochemical reactions or processes.
 Pathology is the study of disease such as inflammation, cell injury and cancer.

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Basic Biochemical Principles

Catabolism: It is the process of breakdown of complex molecules (proteins, polysaccharides,

lipids, etc.) to the simpler molecules (CO2, NH3 and H2O), accompanied by the synthesis of
ATP. ATP is frequently described as energy currency of the cells. It can be transported to
those sites of the cell where it is utilized for various cellular functions.

Anabolism: It is the process of biosynthesis of complex molecules (lipids, proteins,

polysaccharides, etc.) from the simple precursor molecules (Acetyl CoA, Amino acids,
Glucose, etc.), accompanied by utilization of energy. Usually, ATP provides the energy for
all the process.

Metabolism: The sum of catabolism and anabolism within the cells and tissues called
metabolism.

Anabolism
Small Molecules Large Molecules
Catabolism

The term anabolism or catabolism is generally referred to metabolism. When the process of
anabolism increased than catabolism, the growth of organism occurs. It happens in the period
of immaturity. If the process is balance, there is no change in the tissue mass. This represents
the normal maturity. When the process of catabolism increased than anabolism, mass of the
tissues declines. It happens in the old age and in starvation period.

Pathways: In the cell, anabolism and catabolism rarely occur in a single step. These
reactions are usually organized in multistep sequence called pathways. These pathways are
called either anabolic pathways or catabolic pathways depending upon the ongoing process.
Collectively, these pathways are called metabolic pathways.

Principal ingredients of our dietary food: Humans are heterotrophs. They can synthesize
their organic food only from other organic materials that they obtained from autotrophs
(plants). Principal ingredients of their dietary food are carbohydrates, fats, proteins etc.
Digestion of their dietary food occurs in three stages.

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Stage 1: Digestion of complex dietary fuel to their monomer units, which absorb from the
gut e.g.
i) Carbohydrates convert into their respective monosaccharide.
ii) Proteins convert into their respective amino acids.
iii) Fats convert into their respective fatty acids.
Absorption of these monomer units occur in GIT

Stage 2: Conversion of monomer units into simple molecules within the cells.
Here, all monomer units include monosaccharides, amino acids and fatty acids converted into
common breakdown product called Acetyl CoA.

Stage 3: Simple molecule like Acetyl CoA can either be catabolized to carbon dioxide and
water or again anabolized to form the precursor monomer molecules. This stage also called
amphibolic pathway.

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 Pharmaceutical Biochemistry II(Theory)

Role of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry in the Health Profession.

There is a mutual relationship exist between health profession and pharmaceutical
biochemistry. The basic aims of health profession are to get the understanding and
maintenance of health as well as to get the understanding and effective treatment of diseases.
Biochemistry clarifies the both aspects of health and disease. Conversely, the study of various
aspects of health and disease opened the new areas of biochemistry. Following diagram is
better explaining this two-way street.

Diagram 1

Example
Knowledge of protein structure and function is necessary to elucidate the single biochemical
difference between normal hemoglobin and sickle cell hemoglobin. On the other hand,
analysis of sickle cell hemoglobin helps us to understand the structure and function of both
type of hemoglobin.

What is health?
According to WHO, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and
not only the absence of disease. From biochemical point of view, health is a state in which all
intra and extracellular reactions of the body occur at rates, appropriate with the organism’s
maximal survival in the physiologic state.

What is disease?

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A disease may be abnormalities of biomolecules, chemical reactions, or of biochemical

processes. The major factors that are responsible for causing diseases in animals and humans
may be physical, chemical, biological, lack of oxygen, genetic, immunologic, nutritional,
endocrine etc.

1. Physical agents including mechanical trauma, extremes of temperature, sudden changes in

atmospheric pressure, radiation, electric shock.
2. Chemical agents, including drugs, certain toxic compounds, therapeutic drugs, etc.
3. Biologic agents including viruses, bacteria, fungi, higher forms of parasites.
4. Lack of oxygen including loss of blood supply, depletion of the oxygen-carrying capacity
of the blood, poisoning of the oxidative enzymes.
5. Genetic disorders: Congenital, molecular.
6. Immunologic reactions: Anaphylaxis, autoimmune disease.
7. Nutritional imbalances: Deficiencies, excesses.
8. Endocrine imbalances: Hormonal deficiencies, excesses.

These factors affect on important biochemical reactions as well as on biomolecules.

Biochemical studies help in diagnosis and treatment of most of these conditions e.g. some
biochemical investigations of laboratory in relation to diabetes mellitus are:

1. To assist in the diagnosis of specific diseases (diabetes mellitus).

2. To reveal the fundamental causes of diseases (genetic disorder).
3. To perform screening tests for the early diagnosis of certain diseases (blood sugar level).
4. To suggest rational treatments of the diseases (sugar free diet).
5. To assist in monitoring the progress (recovery, worsening, reduction, or relapse) of
diseases
6. To assist in assessing the response of diseases to therapy.

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Nature of Biochemical Reactions

Biochemical reactions are the complicated form of organic reactions in the living organisms.
Living organisms have enzymes that accelerate the rate of these reactions. Although there are
many possible biochemical reactions, they fall into only a few types.

1. Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
When a biochemical reaction results in the loss of electrons it is called an oxidation reaction.
When electrons are gained in a reaction it is a reduction reaction. Oxidations and reductions
always go together since electrons are passed from one molecule to another. Such coupled
reactions are referred to as redox reactions.

The metabolic processes of the human body like Glycolysis, Kreb's Cycle, and Electron
Transport Chain involve the transfer of electrons by redox reactions.

2. Reactions involving movement of functional groups within or between molecules

For example, the transfer of phosphate groups from oxygen atom of one molecule to the
oxygen atom of other molecule.

Glucose + ATP Glucose 6-Phosphate + ADP

3. Reaction involving the addition and removal of water

For example, breakdown of amide linkage in to amine and a carboxyl group.

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Asparagines + H2O Aspartic acid + NH3

4. Bond-breaking reactions
For example, carbon-carbon bond breakage. A reaction of glycolysis e.g. breakdown of
F1,6-biphosphate to glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate.

Regulation of biochemical reactions

Biochemical reactions should not go too fast or too slow. These reactions should occur at
required state for proper functioning of the cell. That is why there is a very good
regulation system for these reactions.

Exergonic and endergonic reactions

Reactions that produce the energy are termed as exergonic reactions and the reactions that
require energy to initiate the reaction are known as endergonic reactions.

Macromolecule or Biomolecules
Macromolecule or Biomolecules is organic molecule that is covalently linked to each other.
Major complex biomolecules found in human are nucleic acid, proteins, lipids and
carbohydrates. These biomolecules are constructed by simple molecules like
deoxyribonucleotides & ribonucleotide, amino acid, fatty acid and glucose, respectively.

Supramolecules
Macromolecules that are linked with each other by non-covalent bonds are called
supramolecules such as complex of nucleotides and peptides (DNA and Proteins).
Supramolecules further assembled into cell organelles.

Elemental composition of human body

More than 99% mass of human body is made up of six nutrients that are carbon, oxygen,
hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorous.

Normal chemical composition of human body

Chemical composition of normal human body is water 60-70%, proteins 15%, lipids 15%,
carbohydrates 2% & minerals 8%.

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