Bioactive Natural Products

This book covers the recent innovations relating to various bioactive natural products (such as alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, anthraquinones, steroids, polysaccharides, tannins and polyphenolic compounds, volatile oils, fixed oils, fats and waxes, proteins and peptides, vitamins, marine products, camptothecin, piperines, carvacrol, gedunin, GABA, ginsenosides) and their applications in the pharmaceutical fields related to academic, research and industry.

Bioactive natural products are a rich source of novel therapeutics. Thus, the search for bioactive molecules from nature continues to play an important role in fashioning new medicinal agents. This volume, which comprises sixteen chapters written by active researchers and leading experts in natural products chemistry, brings together an overview of current discoveries in this remarkable field. It also provides information on the industrial application of natural products for medicinal purposes. This book will serve as a valuable resource for researchers to predict promising leads for developing pharmaceuticals to treat various ailments and disease manifestations.

Natural compounds, which have evolved their function over millions of years, are often more efficient than man-made compounds if a specific biological activity is needed, e.g. as an enzyme inhibitor or as a toxin to kill a cancer cell. This book comprising of sixteen technical chapters, highlights the chemical and biological aspects of potential natural products with an intention of unravelling their pharmaceutical applicability in modern drug discovery processes. Key features: Covers the synthesis, semi-synthesis and also biosynthesis of potentially bioactive natural products Features chemical and biological advances in naturally occurring organic compounds describing their chemical transformations, mode of actions, and structure-activity relationships 40 expert scientists from around the world report their latest findings and outline future opportunities for the development of novel and highly potent drugs based on natural products operating at the interface of chemistry and biology Forward-looking: Addresses opportunities and cutting-edge developments rather than well-documented basic knowledge, pinpoints current trends and future directions in this rapidly-evolving field Application-oriented: Throughout the book, the focus is on actual and potential applications in pharmacology and biotechnology This book is an essential resource for natural products chemists, medicinal chemists, biotechnologists, biochemists, pharmacologists, as well as the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries.

This book highlights different natural products that are derived from the plants and microbes that have shown potential as the lead compounds against infectious diseases and cancer. Natural products represent an untapped source of strikingly diverse chemotypes with novel mechanisms of action and the potential to serve as anticancer and anti-infective agents. The book discusses a range of biotechnologically valuable bioactive compounds and secondary metabolites that have been derived from plant and microorganisms from various ecological niches. It also reviews the latest developments in the field of genomics, bioinformatics and industrial fermentation for harnessing the microbial products for commercial applications. In turn, the book’s closing section reviews important biotechnological applications of various natural products. Combining the expertise of specialists in this field, the book’s goal is to promote the further investigation of natural sources for the development of standardized, safe and effective therapies.

Current discoveries and research into bioactive naturalproducts Medicinal Chemistry of Bioactive Natural Products provides amuch-needed survey of bioactive natural products and theirapplications in medicinal chemistry. This comprehensive referencefeatures articles by some of the world's leading scientists in thefield on discovery, structure elucidation, and elegant syntheticstrategies--developed for natural products--with an emphasis on thestructure activity relationship of bioactive natural products. Thetopics have been carefully chosen on the basis of relevance tocurrent research and to importance as clinicially usefulagents. Rather than attempting to be a comprehensive encyclopedia ofbioactive natural products, Medicinal Chemistry of BioactiveNatural Products guides the reader to the key developments in thefield. By providing not only practical detail but a historicalperspective on the chemistry and biology of the compounds underconsideration, the book serves as a handy resource for researchersin their own work developing pharmaceuticals, and as an inspiringintroduction for young scientists to the dynamic field of bioactivenatural products research. Enhanced by examples with updated research results, the discussioncovers such topics as: * The chemistry and biology of epothilones * Vancomycin and other glycopeptide antibiotic derivates * Antitumor and other related activities of Taxol and itsanalogs * The antimalarial properties of the traditional Chinese medicine,Quinghaosu (artemisinin) * Huperzine A: A natural drug for the treatment of Alzheimer'sdisease * The medicinal chemistry of ginkgolides from Ginkgo biloba * Recent progress in Calophyllum coumarins as potent anti-HIVagents * Plant-derived anti-HIV agents and analogs * Chemical synthesis of annonaceous acetogenins and theirstructurally modified mimics

Natural Bioactive Compounds: Technological Advancements deals with the latest breakthroughs in the field of screening, characterization and novel applications of natural bioactive compounds from diverse group of organisms ranging from bacteria, viruses, cyanobacteria, algae, fungi, bryophytes, higher plants, sponges, corals and fishes. Written by some of the most reputed scientists in the field, this book introduces the reader to strategies and methods in the search for bioactive natural products. It is an essential read for researchers and students interested in bioactive natural products, their biological and pharmacological properties, their possible use as chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents, and other future potential applications. Explores natural sources of bioactive compounds, including cyanobacteria, bacteria, viruses, fungi and higher plants Discusses the potential applications of biological products, such as their use in medicine (antibiotics, cancer research, immunology), as food additives, supplements and technological substances Analyzes the contributions of emerging or developing technologies for the study of bioactive natural compounds (characterization and purification)

Bioactive natural products are proving to be a rich source of novel therapeutics to both protect against and combat diseases, as well as serve as lead compounds in crop protection. Following the successful format of the first edition, this volume brings together collective research from many new contributors and emphasizes the rationale behind the

The first edition of Bioactive Compounds from Natural Sources was published in a period of renewed attention to biologically active compounds of natural origin. This trend has continued and intensified—natural products are again under the spotlight, in particular for their possible pharmacological applications. Largely focusing on natural products as lead compounds in drug discovery, Bioactive Compounds from Natural Sources, Second Edition: Natural Products as Lead Compounds in Drug Discovery is actually a completely new volume containing surveys of selected recent advances in an interdisciplinary area covering chemistry of natural products, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, and other related topics. Written by some of the most reputed scientists in the field, this second edition includes new chapters from authors who contributed to the first edition as well as many chapters compiled by new authors. Introducing the reader to strategies and methods in the search for bioactive natural products, this book covers topics including: Natural sources of bioactive compounds such as aquatic cyanobacteria, filamentous fungi, and tropical plants, The tremendous potentiality of metabolic engineering of natural products biosynthesis The contribution of emerging or developing technologies to the study of bioactive natural compounds, namely computational methods and circular dichroism The potential of natural or natural-derived compounds for specific therapeutic applications: treatment of viral diseases, regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor, antimalarials, modulation of angiogenesis, and antitumor and wound-healing activity Selected examples of natural product families and related synthetic analogues, namely polyphenols and campthotecins Compiled for researchers and Ph.D. students working in interdisciplinary fields, this book will also be appreciated by readers without a background in chemistry interested in bioactive natural products, their biological and pharmacological properties, and their possible use as chemopreventive or chemotherapeutic agents. Conversely, the biological and pharmacological data and methods are accessible by chemists.