Heinz Falk

so easy it seemed Once found, which yet unfound most would have thought Impossible. (John Milton, 1608 -1674) There are essentially two types of books on a scientific subject: in the first one several authors contribute their specialized approaches to parts of the field in question, which then are edited and compiled to yield a comprehensive and authoritative account. In the second type of book a single author tries to pre sent a view from an individual standpoint which might lead to a more balanced and homogeneous source of information. Both kinds have their merits and de ficiencies. I decided to write this book as a monolithic piece of work for several rea sons. Of course, there was the challenge of coping with the many problems of such an undertaking due to the fact that this field has grown tremendously during the last decades. In addition, being heavily involved in linear oligopyr role chemistry for nearly two decades, it seemed worthwile to prepare a more unifying approach. The request of several colleagues from abroad to give an account in English also triggered this endeavor since most of the work of my group has been published in German.

The Chemistry of Linear Oligopyrroles and Bile Pigments

A. Douglas Kinghorn

Simon Gibbons

Yoshinori Asakawa

Ji-Kai Liu

Verena M. Dirsch

This book describes current understandings and recent progress into a varied group of natural products. In the first chapter the role that total synthesis may play in revising the structures proposed for decanolides, which are ten-membered lactones found primarily in fungi, frogs, and termites is presented. The following chapter presents the development of the intriguing plant-derived sesquiterpene lactone, thapsigargin, a potent inhibitor of the enzyme, SERCA (sarco-endoplasmic Ca2+ ATPase), which has potential as a lead compound to treat cancer. The third chapter covers the potential of various plant phenolic compounds for treating the tropical and sub-tropical infectious disease, leishmaniasis. In addition the volume presents recent advances related to the plant alkaloid, cryptolepine, which is of particular interest as a lead for the treatment of malaria, trypanosomiasis, and cancer.

Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products 115

Jun'ichi Kobayashi

The first review describes examples of very promising compounds discovered from plants acquired from Africa, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and the Caribbean region with potential anticancer activity. These include plant secondary metabolites of the diphyllin lignan, penta[b]benzofuran, triterpenoid, and tropane alkaloid types. The second review presents 40 more erythrinan alkaloids, which were either new or were missed out in the last major reviews, bringing to a total of 154 known erythrinan alkaloids known to date. The reported pharmacological activities of the new and known alkaloids showed a greater bias towards central nervous system and related activities. Other prominent activities reported were antifeedant or insecticidal, cytotoxicity/antitumor/anticancer/estrogenic, antiprotozoal, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antifungal and antiviral activities.

Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products 107

A. D. Kinghorn

The volumes of this classic series, now referred to simply as "Zechmeister" after its founder, Laszlo Zechmeister, have appeared under the Springer Imprint ever since the series' inauguration in 1938. The series has featured contributions by seven Nobel laureates: D.H.R. Barton, D. Crowfoot Hodgkin, L. Pauling, K. Alder, O. Diels, P. Karrer, and H. von Euler-Chelpin. The volumes contain contributions on various topics related to the origin, distribution, chemistry, synthesis, biochemistry, function or use of various classes of naturally occurring substances ranging from small molecules to biopolymers. Each contribution is written by a recognized authority in the field and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the topic in question. Addressed to biologists, technologists, and chemists alike, the series can be used by the expert as a source of information and literature citations and by the non-expert as a means of orientation in a rapidly developing discipline.

Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products 101

Junichi Kobayashi

Resin glycosides are part of a very extensive family of secondary metabolites known as glycolipids or lipo-oligosaccharides and are constituents of complex resins (glycoresins) (1) unique to the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae (2). These active principles are responsible for the drastic purgative action of all the important Convolvulaceous species used in traditional medicine throughout the world since ancient times. Several commercial purgative crude drugs can be prepared from the roots of different species of Mexican morning glories. Their incorporation as therapeutic agents in Europe is an outstanding example of the assimilation of botanical drugs from the Americas as substitutes for traditional Old World remedies (3). Even though phytochemical investigations on the constituents of these drugs were initiated during the second half of the nineteenth century, the structure of their active ingredients still remains poorly known for some examples of these purgative roots. During the last two decades, the higher resolution c- abilities of modern analytical isolation techniques used in conjunction with pow- ful spectroscopic methods have facilitated the elucidation of the active principles of these relevant herbal products. This chapter describes the ethnobotanical information associated with the p- gative morning glory species and how traditional usages were instrumental in plant selection for chemical studies. The advantages and limitations of available analy- cal techniques for the isolation, puri?cation, and structure characterization of the individual constituents of these complex glycoconjugates are also discussed.

Fortschritte der Chemie organischer Naturstoffe / Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products, Vol. 92

The book presents the current state of the art on phytocannnabinoid chemistry and pharmacology and will be of much use to those wishing to understand the current landscape of the exciting and intriguing phytocannabinoid science. The focus is on natural product cannabinoids which have been demonstrated to act at specific receptor targets in the CNS.

Unraveling the Complex Chemistry and Pharmacology of Cannabis sativa

Phytocannabinoids

The first contribution summarizes current trends in research on medicinal plants in Mexico with emphasis on work carried out at the authors' laboratories. The most relevant phytochemical and pharmacological profiles of a selected group of plants used widely for treating major national health problems are described. The second contribution provides a detailed survey of the so far reported literature data on the capacities of selected oxyprenylated phenylpropanoids and polyketides to trigger receptors, enzymes, and other types of cellular factors for which they exhibit a high degree of affinity and therefore evoke specifice responses. And the third contribution discusses aspects of endophytic actinobacterial biology and chemistry, including biosynthesis and total synthesis of secondary metabolites produced in culture. It also presents perspectives fo the future of microbial biodiscovery, with emphasis on the seondary metabolism of endophytic actinobacteria.

Heinz Falk

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