Highlighting the complexity and applications of plant bioactive metabolites in organic and medicinal chemistry, this book overviews plant biodiversity as a source of new drugs and drug discovery strategies. In addition, the book describes the role of natural products as drugs targeting specific disease areas, including neurological disorders, inflammation, infectious diseases, and cancer. The coverage also discusses natural products in clinical trials, quality control, and case studies of medicinal plants. A complete sourcebook for this topic, the text includes chapters on marketing, regulations, intellectual property, and academic-industry collaboration.
Chapter 1. Natural products in drug discovery: recents advances
Chapter 2. Modern approaches in the search for new active compounds from crude extracts of natural sources
Chapter 3. Natural product as lead compounds in medicinal chemistry
Chapter 4. The importance of structural manipulation of natural compounds in drug discovery and development
Chapter 5. The action of plants and their constituents on the central nervous system
Chapter 6. The role of natural products in discovery of new anti-infective agents with emphasis on antifungal compounds
Chapter 7. Antiulcer agent from higher plants
Chapter 8. Recent progress in the chemistry and biology of pacilitaxel (Taxol) and related taxanes
Chapter 9. Cancer chemopreventive activity of higher plants
Chapter 10. Medicinal plants and pharmaceutical technology
Chapter 11. Natural products in clinical trails
Chapter 12. The influence of biotic and abiotic factors on the production on secondary metabolites in medicinal plants
Chapter 13. Production of bioactives compounds: the importance of Pictet-Spengler reaction in the XXI Century
Chapter 14. Screening methods for drug discovery from plants
Chapter 15. Phytotherapeutics - intellectual property rights, global market, and global regulatory guidelines
Chapter 16. Cooperation between the pharmaceutical industry and academic instiutions in drug discovery
Valdir Cechinel-Filho, PhD, is Professor and Researcher at the Chemical-Pharmaceutical Investigations Center, University of Vale do Itajaí in Brazil. The editor of five books, seventeen contributed chapters, and over 250 scientific papers and reviews, Dr. Filho is also Associate Editor of Pharmaceutical Biology, a member of the editorial boards of several journals, and a reviewer for many journals, including European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, Natural Product Research, Planta Medica, and Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.