Editorial Cite This: J. Nat. Prod. 2019, 82, 423−424
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Special Issue in Honor of Professor Rachel Mata for gastrointestinal and cardiovascular illnesses, and antiparasitic, antiulcer, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic agents.1 This large-scale approach to medicinal biodiversity was unprecedented and of fundamental importance in a country like Mexico, where a large segment of the population relies on alternative medicine for their primary healthcare. The results of this research have also been vital for the preparation of several WHO-type monographs for the quality control of herbal remedies included in the Second Edition of the Mexican Herbal Pharmacopeia. Her work will endure as a scientific reservoir of ethnopharmacological information with a longlasting impact on the use and properties of medicinal plants. Calmodulin has been another important drug target for Dr. Mata’s research.3 This important intracellular Ca2+-binding protein in eukaryotic organisms plays a central role in regulating innumerable cellular processes and pathological conditions, such as cancer. Rachel’s research group has developed, in recent years, fluorescent biological sensors built with human calmodulin for screening the potential of natural products inhibitors from fungi4 and herbal drugs.3 In some cases, in silico analyses were applied to explore the binding potential of these inhibitors. Fungal bioprospecting in Mexico has also now been established and consolidated thanks to the pioneering work of Rachel’s research group. Fungi, isolated from diverse substrates such as plants (endophytes), soil, dung, and marine environments, have been investigated from the points of view of both biological activity and chemistry, leading to the isolation of numerous bioactive secondary metabolites with medicinal or agrochemical relevance.4 Her incursion on the work with microorganisms was a legacy of the late Professor Emeritus Yuzuru Shimizu from the University of Rhode Island, who she considered an important mentor after a sabbatical training (1991−1992) under his leadership. Dr. Mata’s collaborations with experts in related fields of science have also been important, such as her participation in the International Cooperative Biodiversity Groups Program “Bioactive Agents from Dryland Biodiversity of Latin America” (1993−2002) awarded to the University of Arizona, with Professor Barbara Timmermann as the lead researcher. A major goal was drug discovery from natural sources, mainly arid-adapted plants.5 Dr. Timmermann is also being honored in this journal special issue. Rachel’s dedication to the progress of the natural products field is evident in the many roles she has had at various national and international committees, organizations, and advisory boards (e.g., the National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi). She has been a core member of many scientific societies, including the American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP), for many years, and was President of the Phytochemical Society of North America. Rachel’s outstanding contributions have been duly celebrated
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t is with great pleasure that we write this Editorial for this special issue of the Journal of Natural Products, dedicated to Dr. Rachel Mata, Professor Emerita (2016) at the Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM). This issue includes a collection of original papers from her close colleagues and former students. Through this means, we honor a scientist who pioneered bioassayguided isolation work on the active principles of medicinal plants traditionally used in Mexico, a country known for its vast diversity of ethnomedicines used. Undoubtedly, during her highly productive academic career, the major area where she has made the most significant and continuing contributions to pharmacognosy and natural products isolation chemistry is in the validation of traditional Mexican medicinal plants and fungi and the identification of drug leads, an area of research greatly neglected in Mexico. Dr. Mata was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and, after earning her degree in Pharmacy at the Central University of Venezuela, she enrolled at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences at Purdue University in 1974 to pursue graduate studies. Under the mentorship of Professor Emeritus Jerry L. McLaughlin, she obtained her M.Sc. (1976) and Ph.D. (1979) degrees with dissertations on the chemistry of isoquinoline alkaloids from Mexican columnar cacti. However, psychotropic alkaloids were not her only Mexican interests during her stay at Purdue: she met her future husband, Juan Manuel Espı ́ndola, a young Mexican physicist who was also a Ph.D. student. After they completed their studies, the couple decided to settle in Mexico City, where both joined UNAM. Rachel obtained a postdoctoral position (1982) at the Institute of Chemistry (UNAM) with Professor Emeritus Alfonso Romo de Vivar. In 1985, she was appointed to a full-time faculty position at the School of Chemistry, where she has spent the entirety of her outstanding career. Rachel’s significant research contributions have focused on studies of Mexican plants employed for the treatment of major national health problems,1 and her laboratory has uncovered the extensive chemical diversity of sources of α-glucosidase inhibitors for diabetes,2 smooth-muscle-relaxant compounds © 2019 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
Special Issue: Special Issue in Honor of Drs. Rachel Mata and Barbara Timmermann Published: March 22, 2019 423
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00067 J. Nat. Prod. 2019, 82, 423−424
Journal of Natural Products
Editorial
(5) Mata, R.; Morales, I.; Perez, O.; Rivero-Cruz, I.; Acevedo, L.; Enriquez-Mendoza, I.; Bye, R.; Franzblau, S.; Timmermann, B. J. Nat. Prod. 2004, 67, 1961−1968.
through several honors and awards including the National University Prize (2000), UNAM’s highest distinction for her multidisciplinary teaching and research at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the Natural Sciences. She was also bestowed the Distinguished Alumni Award of Purdue University (1998). Rachel was the first woman to receive the Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award of the American Society of Pharmacognosy in 2014, and she became a Fellow of ASP in this same year. Dr. Mata was also awarded the National Prize for Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences “Martı ́n de la Cruz Medal” from Mexico’s General Health Council (2002), and the National Chemistry Award from the Mexican Society of Chemistry (2013) for her lifetime achievements in natural products research. In addition, she has been a long-term editorial advisory board member of the Journal of Natural Products. Perhaps her greatest contribution has been the research training of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows, many of whom are now established scientists in the fields of pharmacognosy, phytochemistry, medicinal botany, pharmacology, and medicinal chemistry at various institutions in the U.S., Mexico, and many other countries in Latin America. In particular, she mentored large numbers of outstanding women scientists well before it was a national priority to do so. As Guest Editors, we thank sincerely all the authors who have contributed high-quality manuscripts for this special issue, which honors an inspirational teacher, mentor, scientist, and, above all, a loyal friend and generous human being.
John T. Arnason Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
Mario Figueroa Rogelio Pereda-Miranda Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México
Nicholas H. Oberlies
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University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
ORCID
John T. Arnason: 0000-0001-5354-5715 Mario Figueroa: 0000-0001-7004-0591 Rogelio Pereda-Miranda: 0000-0002-0542-0085 Nicholas H. Oberlies: 0000-0002-0354-8464 Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
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REFERENCES
(1) Mata, R.; Figueroa, M.; Navarrete, A.; Rivero-Cruz, I. In Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products; Kinghorn, A. D.; Falk, H.; Gibbons, S.; Kobayashi, J.; Asakawa, Y.; Liu, J.-K., Eds.; Springer International: Cham, Switzerland, 2019; Vol. 108, pp 1−142. (2) Mata, R.; Cristians, S.; Escandon-Rivera, S.; Juarez-Reyes, K.; Rivero-Cruz, I. J. Nat. Prod. 2013, 76, 468−483. (3) Mata, R.; Figueroa, M.; Gonzalez-Andrade, M.; Rivera-Chavez, J. A.; Madariaga-Mazon, A.; Del Valle, P. J. Nat. Prod. 2015, 78, 576− 586. (4) Mata, R.; Figueroa, M.; Rivero-Cruz, I.; Macias-Rubalcava, M. L. Planta Med. 2018, 84, 594−605. 424
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00067 J. Nat. Prod. 2019, 82, 423−424
