SwRI developed a total synthetic route for the anti-nausea drug scopolamine

The Southwest Research Institute has developed a highly efficient, fully synthetic method to produce scopolamine, a compound derived from plants used to prevent nausea and vomiting
caused by motion sickness and anesthesia.
This achievement marks the first time SwRI has fully synthesized a medicinal compound derived naturally from plants
.


The anti-nausea drug scopolamine is made from solanaceous plants and comes from the cork oak native to Australia
.
Although these plants are poisonous, extracts have been used in herbal medicine for centuries
.
Today, scopolamine is applied subcutaneously to the skin and injected intravenously during surgery to prevent nausea
.
These compounds currently come from natural resources and depend on the success of
medicinal crops.


Dr Shawn Blumberg, a senior research scientist in SwRI's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, said: "Half of all drugs come from natural compounds
.
" "Wildfires, bad weather, pests and diseases, plant diseases, and even climate change can significantly reduce crop yields, affecting the availability and price
of plant-based medicines.
Developing a fully synthetic version of scopolamine can reduce our dependence on medicinal crops and increase availability, allowing us to investigate other uses
.
SwRI

used internal research funding to develop a new synthetic pathway for the production of scopolamine using inexpensive materials
.
While the process of synthesizing compounds is often lengthy and complex, SwRI technology achieves the highest yield to date using only a few steps and can be infinitely amplified
.
An efficient, fully synthetic method of scopolamine production also has potential applications
in the commercial and government fields.
The current high demand for scopolamine coupled with limited agricultural production rates makes it difficult
to explore other uses for the compound.


In addition to their current therapeutic uses, scopolamine, atropine, and other derivatives from lantern grass may be effective countermeasures
against nerve agent exposure.
SwRI's goal is to further explore these compounds as well as novel derivatives for nerve agent antidotes and other potential treatments
.


Bloomberg said: "The technology to develop synthetic natural medicine alternatives will help reduce prices and make us less vulnerable to geopolitical and environmental disruptions
to supply chains.
"

The development team is also exploring other applications for fully synthetic drug compounds
.
SwRI has filed a patent
for this development.


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