Chemistry of Natural Products ─ A Unified Approach

No date is cited for the first edition, but this second has been updated and enlarged to accommodate changes in knowledge, particularly concerning biological aspects of natural products. Natural products are defined as organic compounds found in nature that are secondary metabolites, and so not studied by biochemistry. Of particular note is that spectral methods have replaced slower classical methods to streamline the determination of structures of organic compounds isolated from natural sources. After a new introduction, the chapters cover structure, stereochemistry, reactions and rearrangements, synthesis, biosynthesis, and the biological significance of secondary metabolites. Students are expected to be chemistry majors. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr N R Krishnaswamy has over 30 years of teaching experience in institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, University of Delhi, Bangalore University, Calicut University and Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, where he was Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry.