Elementary organic molecules in biochemistry

Nature, as well as the human body, contains an abundant quantity of organic molecules. This textbook describes selected oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen derivatives of hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds of their reactions, which are important in the human body or are found in pharmaceutical active substances, poisons, foodstuffs and heat-treated food. The last part of the textbook describes the isomerism of organic compounds, which enables dynamic changes in the structure of molecules that have different properties. Nature is filled with different plants and animals and is the first laboratory to produce bioactive organic natural compounds. These compounds are compatible with human cells and are applicable as therapeutic medicine. There is an effort to reproduce natural molecules in chemical laboratories, but they cannot be as perfect as the natural ones. Synthetic molecules can serve as a model for multiple studies, but there still does not exist a magic panacea pill or a perfect copy of nature, for the treatment of various diseases. Knowledge about the regenerative and toxic effect of medicinal substances in dependence on their structure (type and number of substituents) is very important for the understanding of their role in modulation of health and disease in dependence on their concentration. Compounds can be used daily only in recommended doses (higher doses can be toxic), but still will not replace a healthy diet. People need a varied diet to be healthy, in which are all necessary nutrients, what Hippocrates demonstrated long ago “Let food be the medicine, and let medicine be the food.” This book is written for students who select bioorganic chemistry subject during the study of general medicine or dentistry as well as for motivated students who would like to practice their knowledge and wish to improve in this subject and for students who would like to learn simplified basic organic reactions with their future application in biochemistry. Learn the simple models mainly through creative simple instruction by using different colours, by repetition, practice by drawing of formulas by hand (at least three times) and memorization of common names of compounds and their reactions which have application in biochemistry. Thus, establishing simple educational methods how to distinguish organic molecules according to the colours of a functional group can promote universal learning for all students who thought that chemistry is a difficult subject, but hopefully they change their opinion after study of this book.

Keywords: organic molecules, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen derivatives of hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds, chemical reactions, isomerism of organic compounds