Phytochemistry Research Progress


Book Description

This book is dedicated to new and important research in the field of phytochemistry which is in the strict sense of the word the study of phytochemicals. These are chemicals derived from plants. In a narrower sense the terms are often used to describe the large number of secondary metabolic compounds found in plants. Many of these are known to provide protection against insect attacks and plant diseases. They also exhibit a number of protective functions for human consumers. Techniques commonly used in the field of phytochemistry are extraction, isolation and structural elucidation (MS,1Dand 2D NMR) of natural products, as well as various chromatography techniques (MPLC, HPLC, LC-MS).




Pharmacological Assays of Plant-Based Natural Products


Book Description

This volume provides information on how to select and screen plants for their medicinal properties. It describes phytopharmacological techniques for extracting and qualitatively and quantitatively analyzing a plant’s phytochemicals. After a detailed in vitro investigation including nutritional and anti-nutritional analyses, medicinal properties were tested with various in vivo models for anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-pyretic, anticancer and anti-diabetic properties, as well as wound healing, neurodegenerative diseases, etc. Compound identification and purification techniques include, among others, TLC and column chromatography, as well as molecular docking with specific proteins.




Plant Biochemistry


Book Description

1 A Leaf Cell Consists of Several Metabolic Compartments 2 The Use of Energy from Sunlight by Photosynthesis is the Basis of Life on Earth 3 Photosynthesis is an Electron Transport Process 4 ATP is Generated by Photosynthesis 5 Mitochondria are the Power Station of the Cell 6 The Calvin Cycle Catalyzes Photosynthetic CO2 Assimilation 7 In the Photorespiratory Pathway Phosphoglycolate Formed by the Oxygenase Activity of RubisCo is Recycled 8 Photosynthesis Implies the Consumption of Water 9 Polysaccharides are Storage and Transport Forms of Carbohydrates Produced by Photosynthesis 10Nitrate Assimilation is Essential for the Synthesis of Organic Matter 11 Nitrogen Fixation Enables the Nitrogen in the Air to be Used for Plant Growth 12 Sulfate Assimilation Enables the Synthesis of Sulfur Containing Substances 13 Phloem Transport Distributes Photoassimilates to the Various Sites of Consumption and Storage 14 Products of Nitrate Assimilation are Deposited in Plants as Storage Proteins 15 Glycerolipids are Membrane Constituents and Function as Carbon Stores 16 Secondary Metabolites Fulfill Specific Ecological Functions in Plants 17 Large Diversity of Isoprenoids has Multiple Funtions in Plant Metabolism 18 Phenylpropanoids Comprise a Multitude of Plant Secondary Metabolites and Cell Wall Components 19 Multiple Signals Regulate the Growth and Development of Plant Organs and Enable Their Adaptation to Environmental Conditions 20 A Plant Cell has Three Different Genomes 21 Protein Biosynthesis Occurs at Different Sites of a Cell 22 Gene Technology Makes it Possible to Alter Plants to Meet Requirements of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Industry.




Therapeutic Use of Medicinal Plants and their Extracts: Volume 2


Book Description

This book starts with a general introduction to phytochemistry, followed by chapters on plant constituents, their origins and chemistry, but also discussing animal-, microorganism- and mineral-based drugs. Further chapters cover vitamins, food additives and excipients as well as xenobiotics and poisons. The book also explores the herbal approach to disease management and molecular pharmacognosy and introduces methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of plant constituents. Phytochemicals are classified as primary (e.g. carbohydrates, lipids, amino acid derivations, etc.) or secondary (e.g. alkaloids, terpenes and terpenoids, phenolic compounds, glycosides, etc.) metabolites according to their metabolic route of origin, chemical structure and function. A wide variety of primary and secondary phytochemicals are present in medicinal plants, some of which are active phytomedicines and some of which are pharmaceutical excipients.




Medicinal Plants


Book Description

Medicinal Plants: Chemistry, Biology and Omics reviews the phytochemistry, chemotaxonomy, molecular biology, and phylogeny of selected medicinal plant tribes and genera, and their relevance to drug efficacy. Medicinal plants provide a myriad of pharmaceutically active components, which have been commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine and worldwide for thousands of years. Increasing interest in plant-based medicinal resources has led to additional discoveries of many novel compounds, in various angiosperm and gymnosperm species, and investigations on their chemotaxonomy, molecular phylogeny and pharmacology. Chapters in this book explore the interrelationship within traditional Chinese medicinal plant groups and between Chinese species and species outside of China. Chapters also discuss the incongruence between chemotaxonomy and molecular phylogeny, concluding with chapters on systems biology and "-omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), and how they will play an increasingly important role in future pharmaceutical research. - Reviews best practice and essential developments in medicinal plant chemistry and biology - Discusses the principles and applications of various techniques used to discover medicinal compounds - Explores the analysis and classification of novel plant-based medicinal compounds - Includes case studies on pharmaphylogeny - Compares and integrates traditional knowledge and current perception of worldwide medicinal plants




Progress in Carotenoid Research


Book Description

The book "Progress in Carotenoid Research" presents an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the biology, biochemistry, and chemistry of carotenoids. Divided into 14 discrete parts, this book covers topics on basic science and applied technology of carotenoid molecules. This book provides an insight into future developments in each field and has an extensive bibliography. It will be an essential resource for researchers and academic and industry professionals in the natural pigment field.




Progress in Chemometrics Research


Book Description

Chemometrics is the chemical discipline that uses mathematical, statistical and other methods employing formal logic: to design or select optimal measurement procedures and experiments, and -- to provide maximum relevant chemical information by analysing chemical data. Being conceived as a branch of analytical chemistry, chemometrics now is a general approach. It extracts relevant information out of measured data, regardless of their origin: chemical, physical, biological, etc. Chemometrics has been applied in different areas, and most successfully in multivariate calibration, pattern recognition, classification and discriminant analysis, multivariate modelling, and monitoring of processes. The main chemometric principle is a concept of hidden data structures that can be found using methods of multivariate data analysis. These are the well-known statistic tools such as partial least squares (PLS), soft independent modelling of class analogy (SIMCA), principal-component regression (PCR), wavelet analysis, and many others. Current activities of chemometricians fall into two main categories: (1) development of new methods for manipulating multivariate data and (2) new applications of the known chemometric techniques in different areas such as environment control, food industry, agriculture, medicine, and engineering.




Progress in Phytochemistry


Book Description

Progress in Phytochemistry, Volume 6 reviews advances in the field of plant biochemistry, including the C4 dicarboxylic acid pathway of photosynthesis in certain tropical grasses and the synthesis and turnover of the lipid components of plant membranes. Other topics include cellular compartmentation and channeling of secondary metabolism in microorganisms and higher plants; applications of paleobiochemical techniques to paleobotany; and the photodynamic action of photosensitizers from plants. This volume is comprised of seven chapters and begins with an analysis of photosynthetic carbon metabolism in C4 plants and C3-C4 intermediate species, followed by a discussion on the synthesis and turnover of plant membrane phospholipids. The next chapter covers cellular compartmentation of secondary constituents in both microorganisms and higher plants. The remaining three chapters are devoted to the more static aspects of comparative plant biochemistry, focusing on paleochemotaxonomy, stilbenoids, and photosensitizers in plants. The final chapter considers the effects of fungal phytotoxins on the plant plasmalemma and on ion transport through the membrane. This monograph will be of value to botanists, physiologists, biologists, and biochemists.




Therapeutic Use of Medicinal Plants and Their Extracts: Volume 1


Book Description

This volume focuses on the importance of therapeutically active compounds of natural origin. Natural materials from plants, microbes, animals, marine organisms and minerals are important sources of modern drugs. Beginning with two chapters on the development and definition of the interdisciplinary field of pharmacognosy, the volume offers up-to-date information on natural and biosynthetic sources of drugs, classification of crude drugs, pharmacognosical botany, examples of medical application, WHO ́s guidelines and intellectual property rights for herbal products.




Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research, Volume 3


Book Description

Plant polyphenols are secondary metabolites that constitute one of the most common and widespread groups of natural products. They express a large and diverse panel of biological activities including beneficial effects on both plants and humans. Many polyphenols, from their structurally simplest representatives to their oligo/polymeric versions (also referred to as vegetable tannins) are notably known as phytoestrogens, plant pigments, potent antioxidants, and protein interacting agents. Sponsored by Groupe Polyphénols, this publication, which is the third volume in this highly regarded Recent Advances in Polyphenol Research series, is edited by Véronique Cheynier, Pascale Sarni-Manchado, and Stéphane Quideau (the current President of Groupe Polyphénols). Like their predecessors, they have once again put together an impressive collection of cutting-edge chapters written by expert scientists internationally respected in their respective field of polyphenol sciences. This Volume 3 provides the latest information and opinion on the following major research topics about polyphenols: Organic chemistry and physical chemistry Biosynthesis, genetics and metabolic engineering The role of polyphenols in plants and ecosystems Health and nutrition Analysis and metabolomics Chemists, biochemists, plant scientists, pharmacognosists and pharmacologists, biologists, ecologists, food scientists and nutritionists will all find this book an invaluable resource. Libraries in all universities and research institutions where these disciplines are studied and taught should have copies on their bookshelves.