Science : Biochemistry

In the plant kingdom a variety of chemical constituents occur in a glycoside form (conjugation with sugar). Glycosides are important, secondary metabolites. The structural diversity is a result of the vast amount of varieties and stereochemical configurations of the sugar component. Aglycones belong to terpenoid, steroid, flavonoid, quinonoid, lignan, other simple phenolics, and isothiocyanate. However, biological activities of glycosides are, in many cases, susceptible to the nature of sugar moieties, even though their aglycone is the same. Since the 80s, plant glycosides have been attracting an increasing volume of interest from botanists and phytochemists world-wide for the following reasons:. • They are difficult to isolate and purify. • They have a very important biological function in plant life and remarkable biological activities. • They are a very important resource of natural medicine, health food, cosmetics and food supplements. The first International Symposium on Plant Glycosides (ISPG), held in Kunming, China was attended by more than 150 scientists from 17 countries. During the four day meeting, 96 reports on plant glycosides, including structure elucidation, ethnobotany, pharmacology, quantitative evaluation, synthesis, pharmacology and biotechnology were presented. 54 of these papers are given in this volume. All these papers review recent research results on plant glycosides. more...

Price: $187.00

Presenting a stimulating synthesis of rapidly growing research interests and publications by scholars in the field of applied mycology and biotechnology. The surge of research and development activity in applied mycology and fungal biotechnology relates to the need and utility of fungi in many contexts. These contexts are wide in scope, and include agriculture, animal and plant health, biotransformation of organic or inorganic matter, food safety, composition of nutrients and micronutrients, and human and animal infectious disease. Containing a balanced treatment of principles, biotechnological manipulations and applications of major groups of fungi in agriculture and food, this book will serve as a practical resource for mycologists, microbiologists, biotechnologists, bioengineers, scientists from agri-food industry, biochemists, botanists and agriculturists. more...

Price: $190.95

Alkaloids: Chemical and Biological Perspectives , the 15th volume of the ACBP series, features four important reviews of research on alkaloids. Chapter 1 is the first comprehensive review of the carbon-13 and proton NMR shift assignments and physical constants of diterpene alkaloids and their derivatives. In addition to the catalogue of spectral and physical data, the chapter includes a table of the occurrences of these alkaloids in various plant species, tables containing molecular formulas versus calculated high-resolution mass values, and calculated high-resolution mass values versus the molecular formulas of diterpenoid alkaloids, as well as seven tables summarizing the carbon-13 chemical shifts of various functional groups in diterpenoid alkaloids. Chapter 2 is a fascinating review of the supercritical fluid extraction of alkaloids. This technique using basic modifiers, provides an alternative method for the extraction of alkaloids. Chapter 3 summarizes recent advances in the synthesis of Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, an important class of naturally-occurring bases and neutral compounds. The increased activity in the synthesis of these alkaloids over the last decade is undoubtedly due to the fact that certain members of this family possess interesting and useful biological properties. Elegant syntheses, chiral and otherwise, of structures incorporating many asymmetric centres are reviewed. Chapter 4 reviews radical cyclization reactions in the total synthesis of indole alkaloids. The use of free radical chemistry in the synthesis of alkaloids has grown markedly because of the mild reaction conditions, tolerance of a wide variety of functional groups, and the good stereoselectivities. . Each chapter in this volume has been reviewed by at least one specialist in the field. more...

Price: $417.00

Presenting chemical, biological and ecological explanations of the alkaloids more...

Price: $280.00

The subject of aluminium and Alzheimer's disease has been plagued with controversy. This controversy has served to obscure much of the scientific research in this field, and subsequently has obscured the possibility that aluminium is a contributory factor in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. This book brings together many of the world's leading scientists researching aluminium and life and contains their critical summaries on the known facts about aluminium toxicity in man and to offer an opinion on the implications of this knowledge on a link between aluminium and Alzheimer's disease. The subject areas of the chapters were chosen to reflect the myriad of ways that aluminium is known to impact upon mammalian physiology and function and range from clinical studies, through animal models of disease to the detailed biochemistry of aluminium toxicity. Chapters are also included on epidemiology and other factors involved in the aetiology of Alzheimer's. This is the first time that this subject has been treated in such a comprehensive manner. The research detailed in each chapter, includes the latest research in the field, it has been critically appraised and this appraisal has been used by each author to present an informed opinion of its relevance to aluminium and Alzheimer's disease. The chapters are much more than reviews; they are a statement of the state of the art and of what the future may hold for research in this field. As a whole they show the high quality of research that has been carried out in our efforts to understand the toxicity of aluminium in man and that we are far away from discounting the possibility that aluminium is a contributory factor in the aetiology of Alzheimer's disease. more...

Price: $250.00