Date of Completion

Spring 5-1-2026

Thesis Advisor(s)

Anthony A. Provatas; Nicholas E. Leadbeater

Honors Major

Chemistry

Abstract

Natural products are primary or secondary metabolites derived from plants, animals, or microorganisms that display bioactive properties which can be beneficial to human health. Such properties include antibiotic, anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and may play a role in drug discovery. These compounds can be isolated and synthetically altered to enhance their therapeutic potential. However, isolating individual compounds from natural sources is often challenging due to their low abundances. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) enables the detection of trace-level metabolites, making it an indispensable tool in the screening process. In this study, GC-MS was utilized to identify and quantify natural compounds in 12 samples, including fruits, herbs, and teas. Compound identities were determined through comparison with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library of compounds, and contained quantifiable levels of bioactive products such as terpenes, vitamins, flavonoids, furanocoumarins, with distribution amounts varying by source. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of GC-MS for characterizing bioactive natural products and highlights the chemical diversity of commonly consumed fruits, herbs, and teas supporting their relevance in the medicinal space.

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