From Chemistry to Nutrition: JAFC's Evolving Scientific Landscape

Like all living organisms, plants require organic and inorganic nutrients to survive, reproduce, grow and maintain homeostasis. To identify nutrients that are essential for plant functioning, researchers have leveraged a technique called hydroponics. In hydroponic culture systems, plants are grown—without soil—in water-based solutions containing nutrients. At least 17 nutrients have been identified as essential elements required by plants. Plants acquire these elements from the...

The cell is chemically composed of water, organic molecules and inorganic ions.
Water
The polarity of the water molecule and its resulting hydrogen bonding makes water a unique substance with special properties that are intimately tied to the processes of life. Life originally evolved in an aqueous environment, and most of an organism’s cellular chemistry and metabolism occur inside the aqueous contents of the cell’s cytoplasm. Special properties of water are its high heat capacity...

Carbohydrates are an essential part of the diet in humans and animals. Grains, fruits, and vegetables are natural sources of carbohydrates that provide energy to the body, particularly through glucose, a simple sugar that is a component of starch and an ingredient in many staple foods. The stoichiometric formula (CH2O)n, where n is the number of carbons in the molecule represents carbohydrates. In other words, the ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen is 1:2:1 in carbohydrate molecules. This...

Drugs, encompassing various chemical compounds from natural sources, lab synthesis, or genetic engineering, elicit different biological responses in living organisms. Some of these responses are desirable or therapeutic, while others are undesirable. The primary goal of administering a drug is to achieve a therapeutic effect, that is, to address a specific disease or health condition. Any concurrent effects outside of this therapeutic outcome are considered undesirable. These undesirable...