Session: Posters:

Amber is formed through the fossilization of tree resin from various species of pine and pine-like trees over millions of years. The largest known deposits of amber, which originate from now extinct conifers of the family Sciadopityaceae, are located in the Baltic Sea region. Amber from this region, referred to as Baltic amber, has been used medicinally for centuries due to its immune-boosting, wound-healing, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anti-infective, antifungal, and anticancer properties. Despite its well established use in folk medicine, a comprehensive study of the bioactive constituents of Baltic amber has yet to be conducted to explain its therapeutic effects. Furthermore, fossils are an underinvestigated yet promising source of novel drug scaffolds due to the transformations that occur during the fossilization process and the different metabolic products generated by extinct species. Here we report optimized conditions for extraction and identification of compounds present in Baltic amber. We also present a comparison of the compounds extracted from samples of Baltic amber and Sciadopitys verticillata, the closest living relative to the extinct conifers that produced the resin that became Baltic amber. Finally, we report in vitro antibacterial activity data for parent structures of the identified compounds of interest.

Connor McDermott

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