Plant-derived Natural Products

Professor Anne Osbourn is Head of the Department of Metabolic Biology at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK, where she runs a research programme on plant-derived natural products. Her research is focused on the synthesis and function of plant-derived natural products and on mechanisms underpinning metabolic diversification. Professor Virginia Lanzotti is associate professor of organic chemistry at University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy and Meetings Secretary of the Phytochemical Society of Europe (PSE). Her research is focused on the stereostructure of natural products, drug discovery, food chemistry, and soil organic matter phytotoxicity. Winner of the 2003 PSE-Pierre Fabre award for excellence in phytochemistry.

• The chemical composition of plants.- to the Different Classes of Natural Products.- Natural Products from Seaweeds.- Use of Secondary Metabolite Variation in Crop Improvement.- Approaches to the Analysis of Plant-Derived Natural Products.- Opportunities and Challenges for Ethnobotany at the Start of the Twenty-First Century.- Secondary metabolite biosynthesis.- to the Different Classes of Biosynthetic Enzymes.- Methods for Molecular Identification of Biosynthetic Enzymes in Plants.- Regulation of Secondary Metabolism by Jasmonate Hormones.- Metabolite Channeling and Multi-enzyme Complexes.- Glycosylation of Secondary Metabolites and Xenobiotics.- Handling Dangerous Molecules: Transport and Compartmentation of Plant Natural Products.- Participation of Phytochemicals in Plant Development and Growth.- Biological activity.- Biological Activity of Defence-Related Plant Secondary Metabolites.- The Role of Natural Products in Plant-Microbe Interactions.- Role of Natural Products in Nature: Plant-Insect Interactions.- Oligosaccharide Signalling Molecules.- Biological Activity of Allelochemicals.- Health Benefits of Dietary Plant Natural Products.- Floral Scents and Fruit Aromas Inspired by Nature.- New trends.- Bioengineering.- Genome Wide Approaches in Natural Product Research.- Metabolomics and the Detection of Unintended Effects in Genetically Modified Crops.- Recent Advances in Traditional Medicines and Dietary Supplements.- Plant-derived natural products as leads for drug discovery.- Speciality Non-food Crops.

From the reviews: "This compilation of 25 review articles begins with a comprehensive introduction to the structures, biological activities, and applications of the major classes of terrestrial and marine plant-derived natural products. ... the book as a whole would have more utility to professionals wishing to increase their general knowledge of these topics. All of the articles are written articulately, and ... with an extensive bibliography for those who wish to consult the primary literature. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals." (D. L. Jacobs, Choice, Vol. 47 (7), March, 2010)