This volume comprises three reviews. The first describes isolation, structure determination, syntheses, and biochemistry of the low molecular weight compounds of the secretion of exocrine glands of termies with emphasis to pheromones and defensive compounds. The second review describes recent studies on isolation and structure elucidation of bioactive compounds involved in the life cycle and determination of the molecular mechanisms of the developmental events observed in higher plants. The third contribution reports on the current body of knowledge of African propolis, with a particular emphasis on its chemistry and biological activity.

The objective of this ASI was to bring together specialists in several complex variables (many of whom have contributed to complex potential theory) and specialists in potential theory (all of whom have contributed to several complex variables) together with young researchers and graduate students for an interchange of ideas and techniques. Not only was the status of current research presented, but also the relevant background, much of which is not yet available in books. The following topics and interconnections among them were discussed: 1. Real and Complex Potential Theory. Capacity and approximation, basic prop erties of plurisubharmonic functions and methods to manipulate their singularities and study their growth, Green functions, Chebyshev-type quadratures, electrostatic fields and potentials, propagation of smallness. 2. Complex Dynamics. Review of complex dynamics in one variable, Julia sets, Fatou sets, background in several variables, Henon maps, ergodicity, use of potential theory and multifunctions. 3. Banach Algebras and Infinite Dimensional Holomorphy. Analytic multi functions, spectral theory, analytic functions on a Banach space, semigroups of holomor phic isometries, Pick interpolation on uniform algebras and Von Neumann inequalities for operators on a Hilbert space. The basic notion of complex potential theory is that of a plurisubharmonic function.

The book summarizes important aspects of cheminformatics that are relevant for natural product research. It highlights cheminformatics tools that help to match natural products with their respective biological targets or off-targets, and discusses the potential and limitations of this approach.

This volume consists of four chapters that cover a structurally diverse range of naturally occurring compounds. Chapter 1 delves into the chemistry of pyrogallols and their oxidized products, the hydroxy-o-quinones, including their role in cycloaddition reactions in the chemical synthesis of several fungal metabolites. Chapter 2 provides an in-depth description of the constituents of agarwood essential oil and smoke samples that are used in the perfumery industry, with an emphasis on the sesquiterpenoid and chromones constituents so far known. Chapter 3 discusses the defensive chemical ecology of two North American newt species that both produce tetrodotoxin, a well-known neurotoxin that causes paralysis and death in metazoans by disrupting electrical signals in the nerves and muscles. Chapter 4 discusses the limonoids and triterpenoids from the genus Walsura of the plant family Meliaceae, of which a number of species are utilized in several southeastern Asian countries in systems of folk medicine.

The first contribution of this book gives an overview on naturally occuring cycling tetrapyrroles. The article describes the four classic tetrapyrrolic structures with their porphyrin, chlorin, bacteriochlorin and corrin skeletons and also novel, interesting structures with unusual biological activities. This review mainly focuses on the occurrence, structure and biological function as well as biosynthesis and aspects of synthesis. The second article deals with the anticancer compound taxol and its semisynthetic analog docetaxel (Taxotere). Taxol was originally isolated in the late 1960 ́s on the basis of its cytotoxity and antileukemic activity, its structure was published in 1971 in a paper that has been cited 1000 times since this publication. The review focuses primarily on the interesting and novel chemistry of taxol that has been discovered over the last eight years.

Mit Beiträgen zahlreicher Fachwissenschaftler

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, 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.

The first chapter describes the oldest method of communication between living systems in Nature, the chemical language. Plants, due to their lack of mobility, have developed the most sophisticated way of chemical communication. Despite that many examples involve this chemical communication process - allelopathy, there is still a lack of information about specific allelochemicals released into the environment, their purpose, as well as in-depth studies on the chemistry underground. These findings are critical to gain a better understanding of the role of these compounds and open up a wide range of possibilities and applications, especially in agriculture and phytomedicine. The most relevant aspects regarding the chemical language of plants, namely, kind of allelochemicals have been investigated, as well as their releasing mechanisms and their purpose, are described in this chapter. The second chapter is focused on the natural products obtained from Hypericum L., a genus of the family Hypericaceae within the dicotyledones. Hypericum has been valued for its important biological and chemical properties and its use in the treatment of depression and as an antibacterial has been well documented in primary literature and ethnobotanical reports. The present contribution gives a comprehensive summary of the chemical constituents and biological effects of this genus. A comprehensive account of the chemical constituents including phloroglucinol derivatives, xanthones, dianthrones, and flavonoids is included. These compounds show a diverse range of biological activities that include antimicrobial, cytotoxic, antidepressant-like, and antinociceptive effects. The third chapter addresses microtubule stabilizers, which are a mainstay in the treatment of many solid cancers and are often used in combination with molecularly targeted anticancer agents and immunotherapeutics. The taccalonolides are a unique class of such microtubule stabilizers isolated from plants of Tacca species that circumvent clinically relevant mechanisms of drug resistance. Although initial reports suggested that the microtubule stabilizing activity of the taccalonolides is independent of direct tubulin binding, additional studies have found that potent C-22,23 epoxidated taccalonolides covalently bind the Aspartate 226 residue of β-tubulin and that this interaction is critical for their microtubule stabilizing activity. Some taccalonolides have demonstrated in vivo antitumor efficacy in drug-resistant tumor models with exquisite potency and long-lasting antitumor efficacy as a result of their irreversible target engagement. The recent identification of a site on the taccalonolide scaffold that is amenable to modification has provided evidence of the specificity of the taccalonolide-tubulin interaction and the opportunity to further optimize the targeted delivery of the taccalonolides to further improve their anticancer efficacy and potential for clinical development.

The first contribution presents coumarins, the largest group of 1-benzopyran derivatives found in plants. Coumarin chemistry remains one of the major interest areas of phytochemists, especially because of their structural diversity and medicinal properties, along with the wide-ranging bioactivities of these compounds, inclusive of analgesic, anticoagulant anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antineoplastic, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects. The second contribution presents a comprehensive survey of the many aspects of PAD biochemistry and physiology. The third contribution gives a comprehensive overview of secondary metabolites from higher fungi, with more than 700 references highlighting the isolation, structure elucidation, biological activities, chemical synthesis, and biosynthesis of pigments, nitrogen-containing compounds, and terpenoids from mushrooms.