[Latin Name]Huperzia serratum

[Source] Huperziceae whole herb from China

[Appearance]Brown to white

[Ingredient]Huperzine A

[Specification]Huperzine A 1% – 5%, HPLC

[Solubility] Soluble in chloroform, methanol, ethanol, slightly soluble in water

[Particle size] 80 Mesh

[Loss on drying] ≤5.0%

[Heavy Metal] ≤10PPM

[Pesticide residue] EC396-2005, USP 34, EP 8.0, FDA

[Storage] Store in cool & dry area, keep away from the direct light and heat.

[Shelf life] 24 Months

[Package] Packed in paper-drums and two plastic-bags inside.

[What is Huperzine A]

Huperzia is a type of moss that grows in China. It is related to club mosses (the Lycopodiaceae family) and is known to some botanists as Lycopodium serratum . The whole prepared moss was used traditionally. Modern herbal preparations use only the isolated alkaloid known as huperzine A. Huperzine A is an alkaloid found in huperzia that has been reported to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, an important substance needed by the nervous system to transmit information from cell to cell. Animal research has suggested that huperzine A’s ability to preserve acetylcholine may be greater than that of some prescription drugs. Loss of acetylcholine function is a primary feature of several disorders of brain function, including Alzheimer’s disease . Huperzine A may also have a protective effect on brain tissue, further increasing its theoretical potential for helping reduce symptoms of some brain disorders.

[Function] Used in alternative medicine, huperzine A has been found to act as a cholinesterase inhibitor, a type of medicine used to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine (a chemical essential to learning and memory).

Not only used as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, huperzine A is also said to enhance learning and memory and to protect against age-related cognitive decline.

In addition, huperzine A is sometimes used to boost energy, increase alertness, and aid in the treatment of myasthenia gravis (an autoimmune disorder that affects the muscles).

Description

Moof’s Medical Biochemistry Video Course: https://moof-university.thinkific.com/courses/medical-biochemistry-for-usmle-step-1-exam

For Related Practice Problems with Worked Video Solutions on Carbohydrates, visit courses.moofuniversity.com.

In this video, I introduce the topic of carbohydrates / sugars.

(CH2O)n is the general formula for a monosaccharide or simple sugar. Glucose (C6H12O6) is a very common and very important example.

Carbohydrate names end in “-ose”
Aldoses have aldehydes in their straight-chain forms (depicted as Fischer projections)
Ketones have ketones in their straight-chain forms (depicted as Fischer projections)

There are D sugars and L sugars, and the convention is based on the Fischer projections of D-glyceraldehyde and L-glyceraldehyde. The two are enantiomers because they are opposite in absolute configuration at all of their chiral centers (which, in this case, is only one). D-glyceraldehyde has an OH on the right, while L-glyceraldehyde has an OH on the left. Sugars that have their last OH on the right are D sugars; sugars that have their last OH are L sugars. Most sugars that exist in life forms are D sugars.

In the video, I depict the difference between Fischer projections (straight chain sugars) and Haworth projections (sugars in their ring forms). I also briefly mention the idea of anomers as a class of epimers, which are a specific class of diastereomers.

Diastereomers are stereoisomers that differ in at least one, but not all chiral centers.
Epimers are stereoisomers that differ at only one chiral center (they are a subclass of diastereomers).
Anomers are stereoisomers that differ at only one chiral center when that chiral center is specifically the anomeric carbon, the stereocenter that forms when a sugar forms a ring. Anomers are a subclass of epimers.

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