biogenic

The adjective biogenic (education to ancient Greek βίος bios " life " and genesis ), synonymous also organogenic (to organism and genesis ) means "biological or organic origin", "through life" or "created beings ".

In chemistry , biogenic means not being obtained by chemical synthesis processes. From the point of view of biology , medicine and other life sciences, it is used to describe a metabolic product - metabolism is a characteristic of life. In geology and other geosciences , biogen refers to the processes and occurrences that are only possible through living organisms, such as B. humus formation and biomineralization .

Typical terms in a more specific context are:

Biogenic raw materials . Biogenic fuels as a renewable, environmentally friendly alternative are contrasted with the - actually also biogenic - fossil raw materials and fuels based on petrochemicals ( mineral oil products ). In contrast to the term renewable raw materials , which is often restricted to vegetable substances, biogenic raw materials denote material of both vegetable and animal origin.
In soil science , the organic soil substance of the soil (SOM) is called “biogenic” or “organogenic” .
In geology, one speaks specifically of organogenic in relation to the mineral relics of life: organic and inorganic parts of the remains to form rock solidify to form organogenic sedimentary rock - this is used to distinguish from biogenic in the sense of what was formed under the influence of life, but does not carry any traces of organisms ( e.g. stalactites , which were created by previous acid solution of limes in water under the influence of microorganisms in the surface water in the catchment area of the cave, or petroleum )
In water management, biogenic aeration is known through the production of oxygen during assimilation in green aquatic plants .
Biogenic waste is defined in waste management as waste of animal or vegetable origin for recycling that can be broken down by microorganisms, soil-borne organisms or enzymes.
A dam built by a beaver can be described as a biogenic landscape element.
In the pharmaceutical industry there are numerous biogenic drugs . Plants have been used as medicinal products for thousands of years, and even today around half of all medicinal products contain medicinal substances of plant origin. These herbal biogenic drugs include not only phytopharmaceuticals such as chamomile tea , echinacea drops or mistletoe preparations , but also highly effective drugs such as morphine , cardiac glycosides or various cancer drugs (e.g. paclitaxel , better known under the trade name Taxol ). As antibiotics producers in particular, fungi and bacteria are indispensable producers of biogenic drugs, but they were also the first suppliers of cholesterol-lowering drugs ( statins ). Biogenic drugs can also be obtained from animals (e.g. insulin ) and humans (e.g. coagulation factors). Such human and animal medicinal substances, which are mostly proteins , are now increasingly being produced genetically in bacteria or fungi and can then be produced inexpensively in large quantities using biotechnological production processes. These products represent the newest group of biogenic drugs.

Biogenic amines (eg. Histamine , putrescine , cadaverine , spermine ) are protein-rich products at too high a concentration - for example, by fermentation -related enrichment - potential allergens or even toxic effect (tainted sausage!).

Individual evidence

[1] University of Rostock: Internet site "Research focus on biogenic raw materials"

[2] Ordinance on the recycling of biowaste on soils used for agriculture, forestry and horticulture - BioAbfV, § 2 (accessed on June 4, 2008)