Who is Asima Chatterjee

You are probably wondering why Asima Chatterjee was on Google’s homepage.

Asima Chatterjee was a renowned Indian Chemist born in 1917. She died in 2006 and when she was celebrated on google’s homepage, it would have been her 100^th birthday. She was the first woman in India to earn a doctorate degree in science. She founded the department of chemistry at Lady Brabourne College and created a research institute. She also received the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honor from India and was appointed to the upper house of Parliament. She published around 400 papers and several volumes on Indian medicinal plants and their chemistry. Her research contributed to the development of drugs that treat epilepsy, malaria, and most notably cancer. Chatterjee’s research focused on chemical compounds produced by plants native to the Indian subcontinent. Her work on vinca alkaloids is still used today. Vinca alkaloids are a chemical compound made from the Madagascar periwinkle plant. These alkaloids are used in chemotherapy treatment as they help stall cancer cells from multiplying.

            Overall, vinca alkaloids are in the second most-used class of cancer drugs. These alkaloids are cytotoxics. They halt the division of cells and cause cell death. During cell divison, vinca alkaloid molecules bind to the building blocks of a protein called tubulin, inhibiting its formation. Tubulin protein normally works in cells to create “spindle fibers”. These spindle fibers are also known as microtubules. These microtubules provide cells with both the structure and flexibility they need to divide and replicate. Without microtubules, cells cannot divide. So by occupying tubulin’s building block structure, vinca alkaloids prevent cancer cells from successfully dividing.

            Here are the Vinca Alkaloids and their structures. They are all mitotic inhibitors administered by IV, except vinorelbine which is sometimes administered orally.

 §  Vinorelbine

§  Vindesine

            Other research done by Chatterjee led to an anti-convulsive drug called Ayush-56, which help treat epilepsy. It must not be as relevant today because not much information could be found about the drug.

Works cited

FORBES

Vinca alkaloids info