Natural Products in the New Millennium: Prospects and Industrial Application


Book Description

This book deals with a variety of aspects of natural product research. It includes review articles and revised original contributions involving analysis, isolation and structure elucidation, synthesis and bioactivity of terrestrial and marine natural products. Plant cell biotechnology for the production of secondary metabolites is discussed. This volume provides also outstanding information about the industrial application of natural products for medicinal purposes. The broad interdisciplinary approach found in this book, which comprises 50 papers, makes it interesting to the scientists, whose work is in any way related to the research or use of natural products.




Plant Cell Biotechnology


Book Description

In the past there were many attempts to change natural foodstuffs into high-value products. Cheese, bread, wine, and beer were pro duced, traditionally using microorganisms as biological tools. Later, people influenced the natural process of evolution by artificial selection. In the 19th century, observations regarding the depen dence of growth and reproduction on the nutrient supply led to the establishment of agricultural chemistry. Simultaneously, efforts were directed at defining the correlation between special forms of morphological differentiation and related biochemical processes. New experimental systems were developed after the discovery of phytohormones and their possible use as regulators of growth and differentiation. In these systems, intact plants or only parts of them are cultivated under axenic conditions. These methods, called "in vitro techniques", were introduced to modern plant breeding. In the field of basic research, plant cell cultures were increasingly developed and the correlations between biochemical processes and visible cell variations were explored further. It should be possible to manipulate the basic laws of regulation and the respective biochemi cal processes should be regarded as being independent of morpho logical processes of plant development.




Metabolic Engineering of Plant Secondary Metabolism


Book Description

Plant secondary metabolism is an economically important source of fine chemicals, such as drugs, insecticides, dyes, flavours, and fragrances. Moreover, important traits of plants such as taste, flavour, smell, colour, or resistance against pests and diseases are also related to secondary metabolites. The genetic modification of plants is feasible nowadays. What does the possibility of engineering plant secondary metabolite pathways mean? In this book, firstly a general introduction is given on plant secondary metabolism, followed by an overview of the possible approaches that could be used to alter secondary metabolite pathways. In a series of chapters from various authorities in the field, an overview is given of the state of the art for important groups of secondary metabolites. No books have been published on this topic so far. This book will thus be a unique source of information for all those involved with plants as chemical factories of fine chemicals and those involved with the quality of food and ornamental plants. It will be useful in teaching graduate courses in the field of metabolic engineering in plants.




OMICS Applications in Crop Science


Book Description

Merging topical data from recently published review and research articles, as well as the knowledge and insight of industry experts, Omics Applications in Crop Science delves into plant science, and various technologies that use omics in agriculture. This book concentrates on crop breeding and environmental applications, and examines the applicatio




Catharanthus roseus


Book Description

This book studies the production of indole alkaloids in the important medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don, commonly known as periwinkle. The anticancer alkaloids, viz. vinblastine and vincristine, are mainly present in the leaves of C. roseus and inhibit the growth of cancer cells by hindering the formation of mitotic apparatus during cell division. Further, vinblastine helps increase the chance of surviving childhood leukemia while vincristine is used to treat Hodgkin’s disease. Great efforts have been made to produce these alkaloids at a large scale by the culture of plant cells. In view of this worldwide demand for commercial use, this book explores how to maximize the production of anticancer alkaloids from C. roseus. This reference book will be helpful for research students, teachers, ethnobotanists, pharmacologists and herbal growers who have a strong interest in this anticancer medicinal plant of paramount importance.




Medicinal Plant Biotechnology, 2 Volume Set


Book Description

This unique overview of plants and transgenic techniques of great scientific, medicinal and economic value for both industry and academia covers the whole spectrum from cell culture techniques, via genetic engineering and secondary product metabolism right up to the use of transgenic plants for the production of bioactive compounds. Practical examples are given throughout, including the production of cancer therapeutics, functional food, and flavor compounds in plants. Of particular interest to the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, as well as medicinal chemists, biochemists, and molecular biologists.




Plant-derived Natural Products


Book Description

Plants produce a huge array of natural products (secondary metabolites). These compounds have important ecological functions, providing protection against attack by herbivores and microbes and serving as attractants for pollinators and seed-dispersing agents. They may also contribute to competition and invasiveness by suppressing the growth of neighboring plant species (a phenomenon known as allelopathy). Humans exploit natural products as sources of drugs, flavoring agents, fragrances and for a wide range of other applications. Rapid progress has been made in recent years in understanding natural product synthesis, regulation and function and the evolution of metabolic diversity. It is timely to bring this information together with contemporary advances in chemistry, plant biology, ecology, agronomy and human health to provide a comprehensive guide to plant-derived natural products. Plant-derived natural products: synthesis, function and application provides an informative and accessible overview of the different facets of the field, ranging from an introduction to the different classes of natural products through developments in natural product chemistry and biology to ecological interactions and the significance of plant-derived natural products for humans. In the final section of the book a series of chapters on new trends covers metabolic engineering, genome-wide approaches, the metabolic consequences of genetic modification, developments in traditional medicines and nutraceuticals, natural products as leads for drug discovery and novel non-food crops.




Plant Natural Products


Book Description

Im Gegensatz zu existierenden Fachbüchern, die sich entweder ausschließlich auf die pharmakologischen Eigenschaften von pflanzlichen Naturstoffen konzentrieren oder den Sekundärstoffwechsel von Pflanzen im Rahmen der allgemeinen Pflanzenwissenschaft behandeln, deckt dieses Lehrbuch sämtliche Aspekte in einem Band ab. Es überzeugt durch Modernität, enthält farbige Abbildungen, einen Fragen- und Antwortteil und bietet Zugang zu einer begleitenden Website. Darüber hinaus liefern die einleitenden Kapitel ausreichend Hintergrundinformationen zur Chemie und Biochemie pflanzlicher Naturstoffe und deren Einsatz in der Biotechnologie. Damit ist dieses Lehrbuch in jeder Hinsicht als eigenständiges Werk in entsprechenden Kursen einsetzbar.




Crop Improvement


Book Description

The improvement of crop species has been a basic pursuit since cultivation began thousands of years ago. To feed an ever increasing world population will require a great increase in food production. Wheat, corn, rice, potato and few others are expected to lead as the most important crops in the world. Enormous efforts are made all over the world to document as well as use these resources. Everybody knows that the introgression of genes in wheat provided the foundation for the “Green Revolution”. Later also demonstrated the great impact that genetic resources have on production. Several factors are contributing to high plant performance under different environmental conditions, therefore an effective and complementary use of all available technological tools and resources is needed to meet the challenge.