Process for preparing synthetic soil-extract materials and medicaments based thereon

A process for preparing synthetic phenolic polymeric materials whose physicochemical properties and attributes are reproducible, and which simulate the physicochemical properties and attributes of typical commercially-available natural humic acids and other soil extracts, which comprises the steps of:

• a) dissolving one or more starting organic compounds selected from the group consisting of the compounds listed in Table 1 and Table 2, wherein the compound contains at least one hydroxy group and at least one carboxylic acid group, in an aqueous solution comprising distilled water or sodium hydroxide;
• b) adjusting the pH of the aqueous solution resulting from step a) to between 8 and 11 if necessary;
• c) adding an alkaline periodate salt or alkaline-earth periodate salt to the aqueous solution resulting from step b);
• d) maintaining the temperature of the solution resulting from step c) between 35 and 80.degree. C. for a period of at least 30 minutes;
• e) adding one or more water soluble compounds or salts selected from the group consisting of boric acid, borate salts, alkaline earth salts, transition metal salts, alkaline sulfides, alkaline earth sulfides or transition metal sulfides to the aqueous solution resulting from step d);
• f) allowing the aqueous solution resulting from step e) to stand with or without stirring at room temperature at least 2 hours;
• g) removing molecules from the solution resulting from step f) below about 500 to about 10,000 daltons;
• h) concentrating the solution resulting from step g);
• and
• i) removing the water from the solution resulting from step h) if necessary, whereby synthetic humic acid with higher antiviral activity than would be obtained by omitting step e) is obtained.