Selected Topics In The Chemistry Of Natural Products

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 A Globe and Mail Best Books of the Year 2011 Title A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction of 2011 title Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world. Francis Fukuyama, author of the bestselling The End of History and the Last Man and one of our most important political thinkers, provides a sweeping account of how today’s basic political institutions developed. The first of a major two-volume work, The Origins of Political Order begins with politics among our primate ancestors and follows the story through the emergence of tribal societies, the growth of the first modern state in China, the beginning of the rule of law in India and the Middle East, and the development of political accountability in Europe up until the eve of the French Revolution. Drawing on a vast body of knowledge—history, evolutionary biology, archaeology, and economics—Fukuyama has produced a brilliant, provocative work that offers fresh insights on the origins of democratic societies and raises essential questions about the nature of politics and its discontents.

Labor is the most important of the three traditional factors of production (land, labor and capital), accounting for some 75 per cent of the GDP. It is therefore important to focus on issues of labor economics. In this book the approach taken will be that of the free market philosophy of libertarianism, the perspective that allows the maximum of freedom, consistent with the responsibility of all to respect the equal rights of all others. The position of this book on unions is unique outside of the libertarian movement, and this is indicative of its analysis of several other issues, such as minimum wages. For scholars on the left, it is almost true that unions can do no wrong (for Marxists, they do not do enough, but that is another story). Their role is to raise wages for the workingman, and this task is almost unstintingly applauded. Conservatives, on the other hand, oppose unions root and branch (except for their support of foreign wars, which is also another story). To this end they support a welter of regulations, designed to reduce their power: limitations of check offs, forced secret ballots, etc. For libertarians, the analysis depends, intimately, on whether or not these are voluntary organizations. If they are, there is no more justification for imposing secret ballots on them than to do so for the chess or garden club. If they are not, they should not be weakened by restrictions, but, rather, banned, and their leaders imprisoned.

An in-depth exploration of the applications of plant bioactive metabolites in drug research and development Highlighting the complexity and applications of plant bioactive metabolites in organic and medicinal chemistry, Plant Bioactives and Drug Discovery: Principles, Practice, and Perspectives provides an in-depth overview of the ways in which plants can inform drug research and development. An edited volume featuring multidisciplinary international contributions from acclaimed scientists researching bioactive natural products, the book provides an incisive overview of one of the most important topics in pharmaceutical studies today. With coverage of strategic methods of natural compound isolation, structural manipulation, natural products in clinical trials, quality control, and more, and featuring case studies on medicinal plants, the book serves as a definitive guide to the field of plant biodiversity as it relates to medicine. In addition, chapters on using natural products as drugs that target specific disease areas, including neurological disorders, inflammation, infectious diseases, and cancer, illustrate the myriad possibilities for therapeutic applications. Wide ranging and comprehensive, Plant Bioactives and Drug Discovery also includes important information on marketing, regulations, intellectual property rights, and academic-industry collaboration as they relate to plant-based drug research, making it an essential resource for advanced students and academic and industry professionals working in biochemical, pharmaceutical, and related fields.

Aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers working with natural products, Professors Sunil and Bani Talapatra provide a highly accessible compilation describing all aspects of plant natural products. Beginning with a general introduction to set the context, the authors then go on to carefully detail nomenclature, occurrence, isolation, detection, structure elucidation (by both degradation and spectroscopic techniques) stereochemistry, conformation, synthesis, biosynthesis, biological activity and commercial applications of the most important natural products of plant origin. Each chapter also includes detailed references (with titles) and a list of recommended books for additional study making this outstanding treatise a useful resource for teachers of chemistry and researchers working in universities, research institutes and industry.

The major aim of this book is to provide an easy to read overview of chemistry and applications of natural products. It includes fourteen chapters covering most of the aspects of natural products chemistry. The result of the authors' present endeavors is the unique monograph that presents comprehensive information on occurrence, chemistry, biosynthesis and applications of various natural products. First twelve chapters cover general introduction, nomenclature, occurrence, isolation, detection, structure elucidation by degradation, biosynthesis, synthesis, biological activity and commercial applications, if any, of the compounds mentioned in each topic. Some fascinating syntheses of natural products and applications of enzymes in organic synthesis are discussed in chapters 13 and 14 respectively. In addition, there is general introduction for natural products. Therefore the present textbook will be useful for students, other researchers and industry.

Notoriously cumbersome to isolate and challenging to synthesize, the path of natural products to viable drugs is an arduous journey. Yet compounds isolated from nature may possess fascinating structures, biological profiles and pharmaceutical potential far greater than anything made by man. Natural Products Chemistry: Sources, Separations and Structures presents a practical guide to sourcing, isolating, and discovering new compounds from nature many of which become pharmaceutical drugs. This book emphasizes the challenges and advantages of products acquired from nature, compared to those obtained from combinatorial chemistry. A basic introduction, the book describes the whole cycle from farm to final compound, backed up by case studies drawn from industry and research applications. It broadens the scope of applications and draws upon examples from various sources. Natural products chemistry, as taught today, draws its examples mainly from marine chemistry or plant chemistry; however, there is also a fascinating and rich world of fermented (microbial and algal) products leading to complex structures. Thus, the book draws upon examples from the microbial world and from insects too. Therefore, this is a source of bioactive metabolites, not traditionally available in academic settings, more the mainstay of the pharmaceutical industry. Providing a roadmap of the process of collecting a compound from nature, isolating the active ingredient, and determining the chemical structure, this book provides a unique approach to the world of natural products.

Carbohydrate. Aliphatic compounds. Aromatic compounds. Terpenoids. Steroids. Amino acids, peptides and proteins. Alkaloids. Nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids. Porphyrins and related compounds.