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Book ReViews Bioactive Natural Products-Detection, Isolation, and Structural Determination, 2nd edition. Edited by S. M. Colegate and R. J. Molyneux (CSIRO Livestock Industries, Australia, and USDA, respectively). CRC Press/Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, FL. 2008. xiii + 605 pp. 18 × 26 cm. $209.95. ISBN 978-0-8493-7258-2. This is the second edition of BioactiVe Natural Products-Detection, Isolation, and Structural Determination, whose first edition was published in 1993. The current edition follows the same format as the first, with the same number of chapters included (21). Each chapter has a stand alone topic and is authored by a different team of contributors. Although not set up as such, the book may be divided into three main sections: overview of the general processes involved in natural product drug discovery (Chapters 1 and 2); recent technological advances/applications of natural product isolation/structure elucidation (Chapters 3-11); and biological activity and bioactivityguided isolation of natural products (Chapters 12-21). This hardcover book is printed in small font on acid-free white paper. The figures are clear and of high quality. Section one begins with an introductory chapter, in which the editors briefly outline the major concepts that define the area of natural products research, mainly its multidisciplinary approach, the need for isolating pure natural products, and the challenges posed by such processes as isolation, purification, and structure determination. They also dedicate the second half of the chapter to introduce the contents of the other chapters included in this edition. Chapter 2 further reinforces the concepts outlined in Chapter 1 by citing a number of fundamental screening assays, different extraction, isolation, and purification techniques, and current strategies to enhance the overall efficiency and minimize such deficiencies as replication of results and/ or isolation of artifacts. Chapters 3-11 comprise section two of the book, with two chapters focused on NMR spectroscopy, one on circular dichroism, two on separation techniques, three on tandem separation/spectroscopy techniques, and one on biosensing techniques. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the theory of NMR and proceeds to describe the different one- and two-dimensional experiments routinely used for structure elucidation of unknown compounds. Chapter 4 introduces quantitation (qNMR) as a new dimension in the current “qualitative” application of NMR. The authors enumerate the potentials/advantages of qNMR, describe the experimental procedure and instrumental prerequisites, and provide some applications at the end of the chapter. The role of exciton chirality circular dichroism (CD) in the determination of absolute stereochemistry is covered in Chapter 6, which includes an overview of the principles and the citation of a number of recent applications. Chapter 11 describes the different types/designs of biosensors that are currently employed for the detection of specific classes of natural products based on a number of characteristics, such as functional groups, biological activities, and immunological affinities. For separation techniques, Chapters 6 and 10, respectively, discuss the application of chemical derivatization/HPLC and high-speed countercurrent chromatography (CCC) for the isolation of bioactive natural products. The remaining chapters in this section focus on tandem utilization of a separation technique with a spectroscopic one for natural products identification in complex mixtures. Chapters 5, 8, and 9 describe the latest applications of LC-NMR, LC-UV, and LCMS, respectively, in the identification, dereplication, and fingerprinting of natural products and natural product extracts. Section three begins with Chapter 12, which provides a comprehensive list of approved antitumor drugs and a description of plant,
marine, and microbial natural products currently undergoing preclinical and clinical trials in the United States. Alkaloids as natural glycosidase inhibitors are discussed in Chapter 15, along with their therapeutic value and methods of analysis/evaluation. Gallic and ellagic acid are addressed in Chapter 16 as the major constituents responsible for the antiaflatoxigenic activity of walnut. Chapter 19 outlines the discovery of antimalarial compounds from traditional medicinal plants and the methods utilized for their evaluation, selection, isolation, and structure determination. Stimulation of germination by cellulose-derived smoke constituents is the focus of Chapter 20, which describes the germination bioassay, generation of smoke, and isolation/identification of active constituents from that smoke. Biological fingerprinting as a strategy for screening bioactive compounds in traditional Chinese medicine is overviewed in Chapter 18, including a description of the different in vitro and in vivo approaches involved. The book ends with Chapter 21, which focuses on plant-derived toxins, such as hepatotoxins and carcinogens, and the different methods by which they are detected, isolated, and identified, such as bioassay-guided fractionation, immunological assays, and LC-MS. The remaining chapters of section three focus on specific entities as sources of bioactive natural products. For example, Chapters 13 and 14 describe the role of endophytic microbes and myxobacteria as sources of chemically diverse compounds with different biological activities. Also, Chapter 17 addresses hen eggs as a rich source of peptides that possess no less than eight biological activities. As with the first edition, this book provides the reader with a timely review of a variety of topics related to natural products discovery and development. There is a balanced combination of theory and application of various techniques involved in the field, such as NMR, UV, MS, and CD spectroscopy, HPLC, and CCC, as well as a plethora of biological assay outlines. In this respect, the chapters addressing qNMR, CCC, biosensing, and biological fingerprinting are noteworthy, due to the novelty of the technique and/or the application. The diversity of topics is likely to provide the reader with an appropriate dose of material to stimulate his/her curiosity and to satisfy his/her specific area(s) of interest. Graduate students, junior researchers, and established natural products investigators are most likely to find something interesting in the included chapters and to use the book as a starting point for initiating specific research projects. The many references cited for each chapter also provide an extended source of information for those interested in expanding their knowledge about any of the covered topics. Compared to the first edition, only Chapters 1, 2, and 3 have retained the same authors, but their contents have been significantly updated for the current edition. The remaining chapters are new and reflect the current state of natural product research, and, as such, the second edition should indeed be regarded as a second volume, not just a modification of the first edition of the book. Overall, BioactiVe Natural Products, 2nd edition is a book that can be read from cover to cover for both benefit and pleasure. Thus, I highly recommend this book for active natural products scientists, not only for its quality and timeliness but also for its projection of the multidisciplinary nature of natural products research. Ehab A. Abourashed Chicago State UniVersity Chicago, Illinois NP1001626 10.1021/np1001626
