How to verify and analyze which chemical molecules contained in Chinese herbal medicines can really play a role in the human body?

Under natural conditions, more than 90 kinds of elements can be found on the earth. According to the current situation, most scientists agree that there are 28 essential elements for life, including hydrogen, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, sodium, magnesium, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, calcium, vanadium and chromium.

Boron is an essential element for the growth of some green plants and algae, but mammals do not need boron. Therefore, there are actually 27 essential elements for the human body. Among the 28 essential elements for life, they can be divided into macro elements and trace elements according to their contents in the body.

Macro-elements refer to elements whose contents account for more than 0.0 1% of the total biomass, such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium, which are all between 0.03% and 62.5% in human body, that is, 1 1.

Trace elements refer to elements that account for less than 0.0 1% of the total biomass, such as iron, silicon, zinc, copper, bromine, tin and manganese. These trace elements account for about 0.03% of the total body mass. Although the content of these trace elements in the body is very small, they play a very important role in life activities. These trace elements are some protein, enzymes, hormones and vitamins in human body. It can maintain normal life activities of the body. If some essential trace elements are deficient or unbalanced, it will cause diseases and even death. Moreover, these elements can't be produced in the body, so the human body must constantly absorb a proper amount of various essential trace elements from the outside to ensure the normal physiological activities of the body.

biological function

(1) The structural unit that constitutes the basis of protein, carbohydrate and ribonucleic acid in organisms is also the basis of life on earth. These elements include carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus.

Amino acids and nucleotides, the basic units of life, change with carbon as the skeleton. First, a carbon chain extends one by one, and then it evolves into protein and nucleic acid. Then evolved into primitive single cells, and then evolved into insects, fish, birds, beasts, monkeys, orangutans, and even humans. For three or four billion years, the theme of this symphony of life has been the chemical evolution of carbon. It can be said that there is no life without carbon. Carbon is the pillar of the life world.

Nitrogen is an important element in protein, accounting for 65,438+06% ~ 65,438+08% of the molecular weight of protein. Protein is the main component of cell membrane, nucleus and various organelles. Enzymes in animals and plants are also composed of protein. In addition, nitrogen is an important component of nucleic acid, cephalin, lecithin, chlorophyll, plant hormones and vitamins. Because nitrogen plays an extremely important role in plant life activities.

Amino acids and some common enzymes contain sulfur, so sulfur is an essential element for all cells.

Phosphorus is the basic component of various living substances. 20% of the minerals in the human body are phosphorus, which is the second richest mineral nutrient element in the human body, while 80% of phosphorus exists in bones and teeth, and the rest is widely distributed in protein, sugars, enzymes and salts in various cells in the body. In cells, phosphorus is the basis of gene structure (DNA, RNA, gene, chromosome), and plays a key role in the generation, transformation and storage of biological energy in the form of ATP and ADP in natural life activities. In plants, phosphorus is necessary for photosynthesis, respiration, cell function, gene transfer and reproduction.

(2) The main functions of sodium, potassium and chloride ions are to regulate the osmotic pressure of body fluids, electrolyte balance and acid-base balance. Potassium ions, glucose and amino acids are pumped into cells by sodium-potassium pump to maintain the maximum activity of ribosomes, thus effectively synthesizing protein. Potassium ion is also an important auxiliary factor to stabilize the enzyme structure in cells. At the same time, sodium ions and potassium ions are also involved in the transmission of nerve information.

(3) Calcium and fluorine are essential structural components (such as apatite and calcium carbonate). ) in the formation of bones, teeth and cell walls. Calcium ion also plays an important role in transmitting hormone effect, triggering muscle contraction and nerve signals, inducing blood coagulation and stabilizing protein structure.

(4) Magnesium ion participates in glucose metabolism and respiratory enzyme activity in vivo, and is an indispensable auxiliary factor for glucose metabolism and respiration. It is related to the formation of acetyl coenzyme A and acid metabolism. It plays a catalytic role in the synthesis of protein. It cooperates with potassium ions, calcium ions and sodium ions to maintain the excitability of the muscular nervous system and maintain the normal structure and function of the myocardium. Another important biological process related to magnesium is photosynthesis.

(5) Iron (II, III) is mainly used as a respiratory pigment to carry oxygen molecules in the body. For example, the active sites of hemoglobin in mammalian blood and myoglobin in muscle tissue are composed of iron (II) and porphyrin. Secondly, iron protein (such as cytochrome and ferritin) is the main electron carrier in the biological redox reaction, and it is an indispensable substance in the energy conversion reaction in all organisms.

(6) The main function of copper (I, II) is similar to that of iron, which plays the role of carrying oxygen pigments (such as hemocyanin) and electron carriers (such as ceruloplasmin). In addition, copper is also related to the regulation of iron absorption in the body, the synthesis of hemoglobin, the formation of skin melanin, the influence on connective tissue and elastic tissue structure, and detoxification.

(7) Zinc ions are auxiliary groups or activators of many enzymes. It plays an important role in maintaining the normal metabolic function of vitamin A and its adaptability to dark environment, maintaining normal taste function and appetite, and maintaining the growth and development of the body, especially in promoting the growth and intellectual development of children.

Manganese (II, III) is a cofactor of hydrolase and respiratory enzyme. Without manganese-containing enzymes, it is impossible to carry out specific metabolic processes, such as urine formation. Manganese is also the reaction center of photolysis water in plant photosynthesis. In addition, manganese is also related to bone formation and vitamin C synthesis.