Science Cafe | Chemotyping Natural Medicines Using Spectroscopy and Machine Learning, March 24

Ohio University's  Science Café series features Dr. Peter Harrington discussing "Chemotyping Natural Medicines Using Spectroscopy and Machine Learning" on Wednesday, March 24, at 5 p.m.

Harrington is professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry  at Ohio University.

• Watch on YouTube .
• Watch on Facebook.

Natural medicines and supplements are a growing market in the USA and globally. Examples include cannabis, black cohosh, cinnamon, and ginseng. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the AOAC-International, an organization of analytical science experts, are interested in developing methods for evaluating the quality of these plant-based products.

Unlike conventional pharmaceuticals that may contain only a handful of ingredients, botanicals and their products, such as tinctures, oils, and extracts, may contain hundreds of chemical compounds. In addition, because plants are grown instead of synthesized like most drugs, their chemical composition may vary based on growing conditions, harvesting, and portions of the plants. In addition, natural medicines are susceptible to economic fraud, contamination, and adulteration.

One approach to characterizing botanical materials is by chemotyping, which provides a fingerprint of the chemical composition.

In his Science Cafe, Harrington will talk about how scientists develop rapid and accurate testing for maintaining the quality of the medicine and protecting the consumer.