How Plants Make Medicine with Dr. Ryan Nett

Plants are master chemists. From caffeine and nicotine to powerful drugs like colchicine, they manufacture an incredible array of molecules that defend against pests, attract pollinators, and sometimes even become lifesaving medicines for humans. But how exactly do plants build these complex compounds, and why do they make them in the first place? This week, I sit down with Dr. Ryan Nett, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University, to explore the fascinating world of plant biosynthesis. We talk about how plants orchestrate molecular “assembly lines” using specialized enzymes, why some of the most promising medicines are so difficult to source from nature, and how advances in genetics and synthetic biology are opening new doors to sustainable drug production. Dr. Nett shares insights from his research on alkaloids such as huperzine A, investigated for Alzheimer’s disease, and colchicine, a historic treatment for gout and inflammation. We also discuss the grand challenges of plant chemistry, from deciphering massive genomes to engineering microbes like yeast to produce rare medicinal compounds. If you’ve ever wondered how plants turn simple building blocks into some of the most valuable medicines on Earth, you won’t want to miss this conversation! Learn more at

You can listen to How Plants Make Medicine with Dr. Ryan Nett online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How Plants Make Medicine with Dr. Ryan Nett is an episode from Foodie Pharmacology Podcast by Co-Conspiracy Entertainment.

This episode is 43:57 long.

This episode was published on Sep 15, 2025.

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