Sources Of Organic Compounds

Sources Of Organic Compounds

Historically, as has been mentioned, all organic compounds at one time came from plants or animals. Many of our most important substances are still derived from these sources directly or indirectly.

(1) Plants and Animals. Many organic compounds are obtained directly from plants or animal sources by suitable methods of isolation. A few familiar examples are carbohydrates (cellulose, sugars, starch), proteins (silk, wool, casein, food proteins), fats and oils (cottonseed, soyabean oil, Lard butter), alkaloids (quinine, morphine, strychnine), harmones, vitamins, perfumes, flavours, resins.

(2) Natural Gas and Petroleum. Natural gas and petroleum are now the major sources of organic compounds. They are used as fuels and also, through synthetic organic reactions, for the production of hundreds of useful organic substances such as solvents, synthetic, rubber, explosives, and plastics.

(3) Coal. Coal is another major source of organic compounds. It yields coke and Coal-tar on pyrolysis or destructive distillation. More than 200 organic compounds have been directly isolated from Coal-tar. These Coal-tar products form the starting materials for the manufacture of thousands of useful aromatic compounds, including perfumes, drugs, dyes, photographic developers, and others.

(4) Fermentation. Fermentation is defined as the production of chemicals by the action of microorganisms. By employing appropriate organisms hosts of useful substances are produced including alcohols, acid, vitamins, and antibiotics. 

(5) Synthesis. Simple organic compounds derived from petroleum or coal have been converted into thousands of useful materials by synthetic methods. Many example might be cited of synthetic organic compounds replacing those obtained from natural sources, such as dyes, rubber, fibres plastics, drugs, vitamins. In many cases the synthetic materials are superior to the natural compounds replaced. For example, synthetic dyes are superior to those of natural origin. In other cases the synthetic materials are entirely unknown in nature and fill the requirements not satisfied from any other source. Examples are ether, glycol, Aspirin, and the sulpha drugs, Synthetic organic chemistry touches almost every phase of life.