The Plant Natural Products Group collaborates with Pharmaceutical Industry partners to study diverse aspects of plant actives.
Our group is funded by the ARC and Partner Organisations via Linkage Projects, Innovation Connections grants and Research Contracts. Research includes molecular studies of biosynthetic pathways, development of small- and large-scale extraction and purification protocols, structural elucidation of novel chemicals, micropropagation using tissue culture techniques for clonal seed orchard establishment and work on general silvicultural practices.
Collaborators
ARC-funded work with Gretals Australia.
Research Contract and Innovation Connections work with FGB Natural Products.
Non-Industry collaborations with Dean Nicolle, Currency Creek Arboretum, SA.
Media on eucalypt natural products
‘Gum trees grown for pinocembrin as company explores potential to treat neurodegenerative, respiratory diseases’ Reported by Annie Brown. Posted September, 2023.
‘Australian-produced eucalyptus compound effective at treating lung damage in sheep model’. Reported by Ben Keirnan, article posted December 2021.
ABC Landline ‘The Family Tree’, episode screened September 2014.
Contact the team
For enquiries, please contact Dr Jason Goodger - jgoodger@unimelb.edu.au
Academics and graduate researchers from the Plant Natural Products research group.
Academic staff
Dr Guillermo Garcia Gimenez
Graduate researchers
Onery Nexus Zhu
My Name is Liyuan Zhu and go by Onery. I am a new PhD student at the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences, the University of Melbourne. I completed my undergraduate and Honours degree at the University of Queensland with first-class Honours in Chemistry. I will be studying the biosynthesis of Eucalyptus flavonoids under the co-supervision of Dr. Jason Goodger, Dr. Guillermo Garcia Gimenez and Prof. Spencer Williams.
Jasmine Biechunzi Liu
I am a Master of Science student at the University of Melbourne, supervised by Dr Jason Goodger and Prof Spencer Williams. My research focuses on the isolation and characterisation of plant-derived natural products, particularly from Eucalyptus species.
Projects
Plant natural products
The global demand for plant natural products is growing rapidly and is projected to surpass $100 billion this decade. The diverse Australian flora is a largely untapped resource of a vast array of potential actives, many of which are unique to our plants.
The natural product industry in Australia is relatively small at present and can expand by taking advantage of this latent resource.
To do this they need to harness the expertise of researchers and partner with indigenous stakeholders to identify new compounds and plant sources and help establish silviculture, yield improvement strategies, harvesting regimes, and extraction and purification processes for commercial gain.
The Plant Natural Product Group foresees the domestication of many Australian plants to help meet the world’s growing demand for natural products produced in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.
Natural products from eucalypts
There are over 800 species of eucalypts, each producing their own complement of natural products. Only a few of these are commercially harvested for their essential oils or more recently, flavonoids such as pinocembrin. Eucalypt natural product systems make economic sense due to the high concentrations of actives their leaves contain and the high abundance of biomass they produce. Eucalypts also have relatively low nutrient and water requirements meaning plantations can be more successful than traditional crops on cheaper marginal land. Trees are also more effective than crops at limiting soil erosion and avoiding land salination issues. Importantly, the lignotuborous roots of many eucalypts can sequester large amounts of carbon which is maintained after harvesting when trees are de-topped and then re-sprout in short-rotation coppice cultivation. These advantages add great value to eucalypt-derived natural product systems.
When a eucalypt leaf is held up to the sun, natural product glands are visible as numerous white dots.
A cross-section of a eucalypt leaf observed under a microscope showing large glands (white spheres). The glands can take up a remarkable amount of leaf space and thereby store large quantities of natural products
Intact glands full of natural products can be isolated from a eucalypt leaf using a technique developed by the Plant Natural Products group.
Use of this technique can help with research on biosynthesis.
Research projects for Masters students
MSc projects are currently available with the Plant Natural Products Group on different aspects of our research.
Recent publications on eucalypt natural products
Li, W, Lu, HT, Stevens, GW, Goodger, JQD, Mumford, KA. 2024. Efficient Leaching of pinocembrin from Eucalyptus leaves using aqueous-based leaching systems. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 63(36): 15938–15947. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.4c02301
Somaletha Chandran, K, Humphries, J, Goodger, JQD, Woodrow, IE. 2022. Molecular characterisation of flavanone O-methylation in Eucalyptus. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23 (6), 3190. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/23/6/3190
Derseh, HB, Goodger, JQD, Scheerlinck JPY, Samuel, CS Woodrow IE, Palombo, EA, Cummin, A, Snibson, K. 2021. The efficacy and safety of pinocembrin in a sheep model of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Plos one 16 (12), e0260719. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0260719
Goodger, JQD, Sargent, D, Humphries, J, Woodrow, IE 2021. Monoterpene synthases responsible for the terpene profile of anther glands in Eucalyptus polybractea RT Baker (Myrtaceae). Tree Physiology 41, 849-864. https://academic.oup.com/treephys/article-abstract/41/5/849/5995578?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Goodger JQD, Senaratne SL, van der Peet P, Williams SJ, Nicolle D, Woodrow IE 2019. Eucalyptus subgenus Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) trees are abundant sources of medicinal pinocembrin and related methylated flavanones. Industrial Crops & Products 131: 166-172. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0926669019300573
Tree Physiology cover image produced by Dr. Demi Sargent, from the Plant Natural Products group.
'A stamen from a flower of Eucalyptus polybractea R.T. Baker (blue mallee) observed using Scanning Electron Microscopy. Each two-lobed anther is borne on a slender filament with pollen grains released from an anther pore in each lobe. Embedded between the lobes is a single anther gland - denoted by a smooth region of cells on the anther surface. Anther gland oil is enriched with the monoterpene a-pinene relative to that of other floral tissues and leaves. Through transcriptomic analysis and recombinant protein expression, Goodger et al (849-864) were able to identify monoterpene synthases responsible for the oils in the different tissues. They suggest the oil profile of anther glands likely helps mediate pollination.'