PLANT-BASED CHEMICALS LANDSCAPE

The global landscape of plant-based chemicals is an extremely important matter. Every country must have a long-term plan extending over the next 100 years, an urgent action plan, and medium-term planning related to this. This article will attempt to address the issue only from the perspective of medicinal and aromatic plant markets and their most important outputs: pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food. These markets are currently among the most dynamic markets in the world and show a continuous upward trend. To provide an average figure, in 2004 it was USD 550 billion. It rose to USD 900 billion in 2008, and this upward trend showed no decline despite global crises.

Global Situation

It is thought that there are 320,000 plant species in the world. It is stated that 270,000 of them are known. Experts state that 70,000 of these are utilized, approximately 3,000 serve as food sources, about 25,000 are used for therapeutic purposes, 5,000 are used for industrial purposes, and about 15,000 are ornamental plants. The medicinal and aromatic plants most discussed in world trade are: coffee, sesame, garlic, red pepper, allspice, black pepper, green tea, mustard seed, poppy seed, ginger, salep and cumin. The distribution of these plants on Earth is not equal. Tropical regions are shown as the richest areas in terms of species diversity. Species numbers decrease towards the poles. The number of popular medicinal plants used in the world is 4,000-6,000, and the number of species commercially traded is stated to be around 3,000.

Plants in Therapeutic Use:

• Atropine: Atropa belladonna. • Caffeine: Coffea arabica. • Cocaine: Erythroxylum coca. • Ephedrine: Ephedra species. • Morphine and codeine: Papaver somniferum. • Quinine: Cinchona cordifolia Mutis ex Humb. • Salicin (Salix) species. Uses: Original or modified forms discovered by Fabricant and Farnsworth in 2001 can be given as examples. In subsequent years, many medicines were developed. This situation essentially necessitated the process of determining the active compounds in the anatomical structures of medicinal and aromatic plants. Parallel to the development of chemical science, rapid advances were recorded in plant chemistry. Apart from the therapeutic effects of plants, the discovery of vitamins at the end of the 19th century, which were determined to be directly related to their effects contributing to youth and beauty, opened new pages in the scientific world. The discovery of vitamins served as a milestone and transformed the field into the most prestigious research area. In plant biochemistry research, plants widely used by the population form the most preferred group. For thousands of years, plants used for purposes such as beauty, fragrance, obtaining dyes and treatment have begun to be examined under laboratory conditions. The development of new purification techniques, the invention of highly sensitive measuring instruments, followed by the biochemistry field and immediately thereafter the entry of biotechnology into the field, has transformed the area into one where entirely different research is conducted and, in a sense, humanity has been reconciled with nature once again, turning it into a magical world. In the coming years, wild flowers growing in forests and plains will also have their turn, and these genetically unmodified plants will gain value and for many more years will continue to provide natural solutions in meeting humanity's most important needs and will continue to preserve youth, body and spiritual health.

Plant-Based Perfumes

Starting from the saying "History Begins with the Sumerians," it would be appropriate to begin perfume with a perfume bottle belonging to the Sumerians. This discovery excavated during excavations in Mesopotamia is extremely important. This object, shaped in the form of an ox head, was not used only for the purpose of holding perfume, but also as an ornament and for religious reasons. This extraordinary artifact witnesses a very important period of time. Perfume was developed by the Sumerians 4,000 years ago. The Sumerians are the civilization that developed the world's first distillation and extraction techniques. With primitive distillation techniques, they discovered how to extract the essence of fragrant plants. Before perfume, fragrant incenses were used. After the discovery of fire, people who burned wood and shrubs noticed that some plants gave off pleasant odors. However, it took many years for them to recognize these woods and plants and make incense from them. It is known that the Chinese practiced incense burning in the Neolithic period (New Stone Age) and burned it for religious purposes from 2000 BC onwards. The world's oldest perfume maker mentioned in written records is a Babylonian female chemist named "Tapputi" who lived in the 2nd millennium BC. The origins of the profession of chemistry are also considered to stem from this. Another perfume workshop and distillation equipment dating back approximately 4,000 years was discovered in 2005 in the town of Pyrgos in northern Cyprus. Perfume was used as a medicine for hundreds of years and proved highly beneficial especially in solving psychological problems. Plant-based medicines, perfumes, food and dyes, as well as their use as textile materials, have always been used in the service of humanity. Ibn Sina, who first supported rose water, and Ibn Hayyan were important Islamic scholars who made great contributions to both medicine and the chemical sciences and laid the foundation of the field in the modern sense. It is known that Ibn Hayyan encrypted many of his formulas and was occupied with hair dyes immediately before his death.

Jabir B Hayyan described distillation using an alembic in the 8th century.

Current Situation in Our Country

This return-to-nature movement in industrially developed countries has led to the creation of a new and very powerful field. Our country has significant advantages in this respect, both due to its geographic location and its relatively pristine ecology containing thousands of flowers within its borders. Plant-based traditional products, primarily natural perfumes, natural dyes, pharmaceuticals/phytotherapy and food additives, can create a very new, comprehensive, environmentally friendly and widely distributed production area in our country that can encompass all segments of the nation. With hundreds of naturally-sourced products grown in hundreds of different climates with different altitudes and different temperatures, it can constitute the greatest force in the world market. This is not a dream but an easily achievable goal. Innovation is the key to all sciences, production and development, and it should not be forgotten: "He who rules chemistry rules the world."   Prof. Dr. Nazan Apaydın Demir Director Cosmetic Products Application and Research Center Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University      

References 1. Demir, Apaydın, N; 2017 Gece Kitaplığı, Plant-Based Raw Material Resources of Our Country (For Pharmaceutical, Perfume and Cosmetics Sectors) 2. Demir, Apaydın, N; 2018 Perfume (Art Practiced in the Laboratory) 1st Edition; Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University 3. Demir, Apaydın, N; 2018 Economic Value of Our Plant-Based Resources (Chemistry, Textile, Food and Energy) 1st Edition; Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University