A Text Book of Natural Products Chemistry

PREFACE It is a book waiting to be written: Natural Products Chemistry (NPC) is one of the basic science subjects that requires collaboration with Organic Chemistry Medicinal Chemistry Pharmaceutical Chemistry Pharmacology Pharmacognosy Pharmaceutical Sciences Biology Biochemistry Toxicology etc.Natural Products by definition is ‘‘naturally occurring compounds that are end products of primary metabolites’’. It can also be; ‘‘anything that is produced by life and includes the likes of biotic materials body fluids and other natural materials e.g. wood silk bio plastics milk coal soil etc.Natural product chemistry on the other hand is the science that deals with these biomolecules (primary and secondary metabolites) their biosynthesis and physical and chemical properties/composition leading to the clinical discovery and development of new drugs in the biopharmaceutical industry. Within the field of organic chemistry this definition of natural products is usually restricted to mean; purified organic compounds isolated from natural sources that are produced by the pathways of primary or secondary metabolism. Within the field of medicinal chemistry the definition is often