NCHU Course Outline
Course Name (中) 天然物健康效益特論(6819)
(Eng.) Special Topics in Health Effects of Natural Products
Offering Dept Master Program in Specialty Crops and Metabolomics
Course Type Elective Credits 2 Teacher YEN, PEI-LING
Department Master Program in Specialty Crops and Metabolomics/Graduate Language 中/英文 Semester 2026-FALL
Course Description This course focuses on exploring the health-promoting effects of natural products through the use of model organisms and advanced omics technologies. Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a primary disease model, students will investigate biological responses to natural compounds in the context of aging, neurodegeneration, metabolic disorders, and gut health. The course covers fundamental techniques for genetic and molecular manipulation, and introduces transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics as tools for functional assessment. By integrating practical lab sessions with data analysis, students will gain a systems-level understanding of how natural products exert their effects, with relevance to drug discovery, functional food development, and sustainable biomedicine.
Prerequisites
self-directed learning in the course Y
Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%) Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives Competency Indicators Ratio(%) Teaching Methods Assessment Methods
1. To cultivate students’ ability to evaluate the health effects of natural products.
2. To develop students’ capacity to integrate multi-level evidence in assessing the health impacts of natural products.
3. To enhance students’ critical thinking skills in bioactivity and toxicological evaluation.
1.
2.
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40
25
25
10
Discussion
Lecturing
Written Presentation
Oral Presentation
Assignment
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content
Week 1 Course Introduction: Natural Products and Model Organisms in Disease Research
Week 2 Overview of C. elegans Genetics and Molecular Tools
Week 3 Aging and Longevity Mechanisms
Week 4 Lab Demo: Biomarkers for Aging
Week 5 Neurodegeneration Model I: Alzheimer’s Models
Week 6 Neurodegeneration Model II: Parkinson’s Models
Week 7 Lab Demo: Neurodegenerative Strains and Imaging
Week 8 Midterm: Journal Presentation on Disease Study
Week 9 Metabolic Models: Fat Storage, Obesity, Insulin Signaling
Week 10 Host–Pathogen Interaction and Gut Health
Week 11 Introduction to Omics Platforms: Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, Proteomics
Week 12 Transcriptomics Data: Experimental Design and Analysis
Week 13 Applications of Metabolomics in Natural Product Research
Week 14 Proteomics Technologies and Applications
Week 15 Classical Multi-omics Integration
Week 16 Final Project Presentations
self-directed
learning		    03.Preparing presentations or reports related to industry and academia.
This course guides students to actively explore recent research advances and scientific evidence regarding the health effects of natural products. Students are required to independently search for and critically review recent academic literature, review articles, and relevant multimedia resources based on assigned topics, in order to understand the current state of research on the health effects of different natural products.
Evaluation
Midterm Journal Presentation: 40%;
Laboratory participation: 20%;
Final Project Presentations: 40%.
Textbook & other References
Hasin Y, Seldin M, Lusis A. Multi-omics Approaches to Disease. Genome Biol. 2017 May 5;18(1):83. doi: 10.1186/s13059-017-1215-1.
WormBook: The Online Review of C. elegans Biology. http://www.wormbook.org
Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website
Lecture slides and selected research articles
Office Hours
After class
Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs(Link URL)
include experience courses：N
Please respect the intellectual property rights and use the materials legally.Please respect gender equality.
Update Date, year/month/day：2026/08/20 23:03:54 Printed Date, year/month/day：2026 / 10 / 17
The second-hand book website：http://www.myub.com.tw/