Book reviews Citrus Limonoids Functional Chemicals in Agriculture and Food Ed. Mark A. Berhow Shin Hasegawa and Gary D. Manners ACS Symposium Series 758 Washington DC 2000 xiii 253 pp. price £69.50 ISBN 0-8412-3651-8 The citrus limonoids are a group of highly oxygenated tetranortriterpenoids found in the Rutaceae and Meliaceae families of plants. Considerable interest in this group of compounds arises due to their role in the formation of bitterness in citrus fruit juices. Navel oranges are a favourite with growers and consumers. However although the juice tastes fine when freshly squeezed it turns bitter within a few hours at room temperature or overnight in a refrigerator. The delayed bitterness is due to the formation of the bitter limonin and related substances from limonoid aglycones present in the fruit.This book brings together in seventeen chapters many of the aspects of research on the citrus limonoids. After a brief overview of the citrus limonoids by the editors there follows chapters on the biosynthesis and biochemistry of the limonoids and their analysis by TLC LC-MS and NMR. The 13C NMR chemical shifts of 22 limonoid aglycones and 17 limonoid glucosides are tabulated for reference. Since the quantification of limonin in citrus juice samples is of vital importance to the industry HPLC methods that allow in-line sample clean up and radioimmunoassay techniques capable of detecting limonin at less than 1 ppb have been developed. Removal of the limonoid aglycones is normally achieved commercially by absorption on various resins but they can be removed using supercritical carbon dioxide.None of these methods is ideal and the most common method of debittering is to blend bitter juice with non-bitter juice. There then follows several chapters on the biological activity of the limonoids. Evidence is accumulating on the anticancer activity of the limonoids and this aspect is well covered in the book. The possibility that limonoid aglycones have cholesterollowering activity is briefly discussed. It is well established that the citrus limonoids have insect antifeedant activity and the possible use of these ecologically friendly compounds is discussed. As citrus fruits mature their bitterness is reduced by the conversion of the limonoid aglycones into their glucosides.The final chapter covers the progress towards the genetic modification of citrus plants that will produce fruit with reduced bitterness. Each chapter is well referenced and there is a reasonable index. Unfortunately the structure diagrams are not of the highest standard and some structures have ambiguous stereochemistry. Overall this book contains a well-balanced collection of reviews and is recommended for all who have an interest in natural products. Robert A. Hill University of Glasgow UK Biosynthesis Polyketides and Vitamins Eds. F. J. Leeper and J. C. Vederas Springer Germany vi 193 pp. price £27 ISBN 3-540-66969-8 This is the first of two books devoted to topics in secondary 356 Nat.Prod. Rep. 2001 18 356–360 This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2001 metabolism and modern natural products chemistry. This subject area has come a long way since the first ‘boil in a bag’ experiments and has been revolutionalised by the use of isotopes and molecular biology. The topics covered in this volume are highly specialised and have been covered by experts in the field such that they provide a foundation to this rapidly developing and increasingly multidisciplinary area. The first chapter describes the use of singly and multiply isotopically labelled precursors to investigate biosynthetic pathways. The methods described can be applied to whole organisms cell free systems and to purified enzymes. Numerous examples (predominantly polyketides) are described in this chapter to illustrate the power of isotopically labelled substrates to study the integrity of bonds origin of atoms and oxidation levels of intermediates.The standard isotopes 13C 2H and 18O are given as well as the less common 15N 17O and 3H. Examples are given of isotopic labelling of biosynthetic enzymes for protein structural studies and metabolic studies. This chapter highlights the necessity of being able to prepare isotopically labelled substrates required for the biosynthetic experiments. The reader is also introduced to the concept of precursor directed biosynthesis whereby non-natural substrates are incorporated into the parent structure to produce novel analogues. 19F was highlighted as an excellent choice for such experiments as it is sterically non-demanding and can be conveniently monitored using 19F NMR.The issue of non-specific incorporation of isotopic labels is also discussed where the isotopically labelled precursor is degraded prior to incorporation thus highlighting the importance of being able to distinguish between ‘intact’ and ‘random’ incorporation of precursors into metabolites. A review of aliphatic polyketide biosynthesis (up to and including 1997) is given in the second chapter. This chapter describes the pioneering discovery that the macrolide portion of the antibiotic erythromycin is biosynthesised from seven simple C3 building blocks on three very large dimeric multifunctional enzyme complexes. Manipulation of the erythromycin polyketide synthase (PKS) by deleting activities or moving them to other locations in the PKS results in novel metabolites being produced.This methodology can be extended by incorporating DNA from other polyketide synthases to produce hybrids capable of producing novel ‘designer’ compounds. The erythromycin PKS is the best understood of the type I (aliphatic) PKS and this review provides a discussion of the seminal experiments which have laid the foundations for rationally designed genetically engineered polyketide metabolites. Other aliphatic polyketides and their biosynthesis are also discussed. This chapter provides an excellent introduction to the subject however significant advances have been made in this area subsequent to publication rapid advancements in the isolation and sequencing of new gene clusters coupled with a high level of interest from both academia and industry have resulted in numerous reports of polyketide synthases in recent years.The gene clusters for FK506 FK520 and epothilone mentioned in chapter 2 have all been described subsequently (in addition to many others). The biosynthesis of cofactors is reviewed in the third chapter. For each cofactor the authors outline the biosynthesis and give the current status on the sequencing overexpression DOI 10.1039/b103593h and purification of the enzymes involved. Mechanistic highlights are then presented and it soon becomes obvious that many of the details of cofactor biosynthesis are not known. Once again recent developments in this area have answered some of the questions highlighted in this chapter.For example the deoxyxylulose pathway for the production of isopentyl pyrophosphate has been partially delineated and the biosynthesis of vitamin B6 has been carried out in a cell free system. The final chapter describes the biosynthesis of uroporphyrinogen III (the last common precursor for all tetrapyrroles) and its transfomation into vitamin B12. The use of isotopic labels on its own was not sufficient to elucidate the complete biotransformation from 5-aminolaevulinic acid to vitamin B12; genetics and molecular biology in combination with isotopically labelled precursors enabled the pathway to be delineated. It is an enormously complicated process requiring 22 genes and overexpression of individual genes or sets of genes allowed the entire process to be mapped out at the molecular level.This chapter provides the reader with an insight into how a multidisciplinary approach is essential to tackle a problem on this scale. After reading this book it is apparent that gene sequencing and cloning have become essential tools in understanding how complex secondary metabolites are assembled from simple starting materials. In combination with isotopically labelled precursors and analytical techniques such as NMR and mass spectrometry it has become possible to understand secondary metabolism at the genetic enzymatic and chemical levels required for understanding at a molecular level how these complex transformations are carried out.This is a highly exciting area of research at the border of chemistry and biology and it is evident that in many areas the chemistry is lagging behind the genetics. To conclude this book would be of interest to anyone working in the general area of secondary metabolism and to those wanting an update on modern natural product chemistry. Dr Alison Hill Department of Chemistry King’s College London Strand London UK WC2R 2LS Biosynthesis Aromatic Polyketides Isoprenoids and Alkaloids Vol. 209 of “Topics in Current Chemistry” Eds. F. J. Leeper and J. C. Vederas Springer Berlin 2000 viii 247 pp. price £93 $159 ISSN 0340-1022 ISBN 3-540-66573-0 Despite the challenges of combinatorial chemistry natural products unquestionably continue to provide the prime source of molecular diversity.Nature has been exploring molecular space long before the term or the practice became fashionable and any glance at a selection of natural products will reveal structural complexity and novel combinations of atoms that are beyond the bounds of the imaginations of even the most fevered synthetic chemists. The study of how these compounds are produced in nature by plants and microorganisms has long been a major area of study and has provided the driving force for developments in analytical techniques (both separation and spectroscopic) mechanistic studies and labelling methodology. Biosynthetic chemists have rapidly accumulated the new skills of protein chemistry and molecular genetics to pursue their quest for understanding how these complex molecules are constructed in living cells and this has led to a fresh resurgence in natural products chemistry with the realisation that with a full understanding of the chemical events related to the genes that control the chemistry these can be used to manipulate the genetic structure to introduce rational changes to the structure of the molecules.This new concept of “combinatorial biosynthesis” thus has the huge potential now being realised in some areas to further extend the diversity already produced by nature. The three major biosynthetic pathways are the polyketide terpenoid and alkaloid pathways and these are the subject of this collection of comprehensive and authoritative reviews.In the first of these Shen provides an excellent and up-to-date review of the current state of play with aromatic polyketides in bacteria fungi and higher plants. The review concentrates on recent work at the genetic and biochemical level and provides by far the best overview of the flood of publications that have appeared in the area in the last ten years. It discusses the details of polyketide assembly the role of the several enzyme components in and associated with aromatic polyketide synthases and provides a detailed account of and possible explanation for some of the conflicting results that have been reported. The assembly and cyclisation of the linear isoprenoid precursors to the mono- sesqui- and diterpenes have been a source of study and fascination for many years.In this chapter Davis and Croteau provide a really comprehensive overview of the enzymology and mechanisms of the terpenoid cyclases. The molecular cloning expression and sequence analysis allied to emerging X-ray structural information are providing a real understanding of how the cyclisations are controlled at a molecular level and ultimately how they may be manipulated. The isoprenoid building block dimethylallyl disphosphate is used to introduce the branched C5-prenyl residue into many metabolites whose basic skeletons are derived from other biosynthetic pathways. In the most substantial chapter in the volume Williams Stocking and Sanz-Cervera present a major and comprehensive review of biosynthetic and related mechanistic studies on the wide range of prenylated alkaloids derived from tryptophan.These are all fungal metabolites e.g. paraherquamides brevianamides roquefortine echinulin verruculogen cyclopiazonic acid and the ergot alkaloids. This is the first detailed review of these families of compounds to have been written and has the extra value of an addendum in which recent work on the biosynthesis of tryptophan and the deoxy-xylulose pathway to DMAPP is described. In the two final chapters Hemscheidt provides a summary and discussion of studies on the tropane alkaloids and Hartmann and Oder discuss the biosynthesis and metabolism of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids in plants and their insect herbivores. Both articles will be of great use to those interested in the non-aromatic alkaloids and are of equal interest to nonspecialists.Overall the volume is an invaluable addition to the natural products library and can be warmly recommended to all with an interest in and enthusiasm for biosynthesis and natural products chemistry at its best. T. J. Simpson University of Bristol Pharmaceuticals Classes Therapeutic Agents Areas of Application Ed. J. L. McGuire Wiley-VCH vi viii vi vii 2315 pp. price £635 ISBN 3-527-29874-6 The ambitious aim of this new series is to provide authoritative coverage of pharmaceutical agents and their application for the treatment of disease symptoms. In addition it also attempts to briefly survey the pharmaceutical industry for readers not familiar with its workings.The series is broken into four volumes each of which deals with broadly grouped therapeutic areas and in addition the final volume contains a number of chapters that cover technical and regulatory aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. Dealing with broad therapeutic areas in turn the subject matter is broken into discrete chapters containing introductions covering disease 357 Nat. Prod. Rep. 2001 18 356–360 states drug targets and their modes of action. The level of detail here is variable and the language used will sometimes be outside the scope of general readers. Treatment of the pharmaceutical agents themselves provides a level of detail and reference material that should be useful to all readers.These include clear chemical structures CAS registry details and relevant physical data along with trade names and manufacturers details. Mechanistic details accompany this information where appropriate and details of chemical synthesis are often included. Unfortunately it is clear in certain chapters that the authors have inserted primary material rather than refining it or searching out more up to date references. In the case of drugs derived from natural products for example this can mean that details pertaining to classification of the producing organism are sometimes out of date. An opening monograph by the series editor introduces the pharmaceutical industry and provides very useful information concerning companies markets and products.The remainder of volume 1 is dedicated to Cardiovascular Drugs with coverage of those that directly influence cardiovascular function as well as those which influence the heart and blood vessels. Volume two deals with Neuropharmaceuticals Gastrointestinal Drugs and Respiratory Tract Drugs and the third volume concentrates on Antiinfectives and Endocrine and Metabolic Drugs. Here treatment of the antibiotic area and thus the main consideration of natural products in the series proves disappointing reading. A brief historical introduction is given and a comprehensive listing of compounds and their uses is provided. Little space however is given to dealing with issues of current importance mechanisms of action are poorly covered the emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens is dealt with in short shrift while little thought is given to the future role of natural products within the industry.Although outside the scope of this series the wider challenges that natural products offer to high throughput screening and the use of prefractionated libraries or similar approaches as an attempt to address this are ignored. Similarly the application of biosynthetic engineering technologies to access new chemical diversity from natural products does not merit comment. From a personal viewpoint these omissions are an oversight. The separate treatment of antibiotics and synthetic chemotherapeutic agents also means that important semi-synthetics are ignored although the latter chapter provides better treatment for some of the issues discussed above for antibiotics.This volume is however favoured by good coverage of HIV and AIDS therapeutics and with a very good second section from which the chapter concerning peptides and peptide hormones stands out. The fourth and final volume in the series covers Miscellaneous Drugs and Related Technologies as well as containing the indexes. Of note in this volume are the chapters concerning immunotherapy and vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. The chapters on types of dosage forms and on drug testing will be of particular use to those readers outside the pharmaceutical industry. The latter chapter takes the reader through the issues and processes involved in taking a screening hit through to pharmaceutical agent although much more weight is given to the downstream part of the process and more consideration of the actual discovery process would have been beneficial (a general criticism with the series).Overall there is a great deal of interesting material in this series that should provide a useful introduction to those interested in the pharmaceutical industry as well as a source of information to those it already employs. It is a shame that chapter quality is quite so varied but probably not unexpected given the tremendous variation of topics and the number of chapters required to cover these. The lack of space given over to a consideration of the discovery process is a great pity. Overall the series does represent a useful introduction and reference guide to pharmaceutical classes and therapeutic agents as 358 Nat.Prod. Rep. 2001 18 356–360 intended and to a lesser degree to the pharmaceutical industry in general. Barrie Wilkinson Biotica Technology Ltd UK Medicinal Plants of the World Chemical Constituents Traditional and Modern Medicinal Uses. Vol. 2 Ivan A. Ross Humana Press Totowa NJ 2001 xiii 487 pp. price $99.50 ISBN 0-890603-877-7 This is the second volume of a projected series of books on “Medicinal Plants of the World”. It contains 24 chapters of between 5 and 40 pages each dealing with traditional uses of a specific plant in different cultures of the world. Each chapter commences with a list of common names used for the plant in various places followed by a botanical systematical description and a listing of traditional uses in a variety of countries.This is followed by an alphabetical list of the names of chemical constituents that have been isolated from the plant and their concentrations. These data are fully referenced. Provided next is an alphabetical list of the pharmacological activities that have been described for extracts or preparations from this plant. Each of these is summarized in one to ten sentences followed by a reference to the original literature. The list of references concludes each chapter. Literature cited goes as far back as the late 1800’s and the most recent stems from the late 1990’s. The book also contains color photographs of the plants discussed and concludes with a glossary of medical terms and an index.The plants selected for portrayal in this volume include the cooking onion the banana the tomato pineapples as well as Ginkgo St. John’s Wort and Echinacea. The former four may serve here as examples for the medicines/foods available to the peoples of the developing world for whom these two terms are indeed mostly synonymous. The latter three are examples of the herbal remedies that are being heavily marketed these days in many parts of the Western world. This book clearly is a labor of love. The author pulls together in a comprehensive way references to the primary scientific literature from the most obscure places. That is certainly very useful for those readers who do not have ready access to the modern tools of information retrieval that are commonplace in scientific libraries.At the same time the book is also symptomatic of the “ information age” in that it lists data but fails to generate any new knowledge by critical evaluation and integration of the disconnected bits of data that have been collected. While a reader in the Western world with ready access to the original references listed in this book can perform the critical evaluation of the data herself a colleague in the developing world without such access is really not any better off with this book than without it. The short mostly one- to ten-sentence summaries of the pharmacological activities reported in the literature that are provided here are not sufficient to evaluate the reports being made by the authors of the quoted publications.Consequently any reader with an interest in any of the biological activities mentioned has to gain access to the original articles. That will not be facile for large parts of the intended audience of this book. In this reader’s opinion it would have been more useful in fact it should have been the purpose of writing this book to provide a selective critical evaluation of the biological activities ascribed to the plants discussed here. To this end it would be very helpful to the reader if for example all of the antimicrobial activities were to be discussed under one heading. In the present format these are split up under four different headings such as “antibacterial” “antifungal” “antiyeast” and “antimycobacterial” activity which in some chapters are placed several pages apart.Another problem is that at least some of the common names supposedly used in some countries for a given plant are clearly wrong. For instance Ginkgo biloba is not commonly called ¡§ maiden hair tree¡� in Germany; ¡§ Lorbeerfrucht¡� is German and most unlikely to mean anything to anyone in Italy; ¡§ Suessholzwurzel¡� is German and will not get you any licorice root in Spain or Latin America. There are many other instances where clearly English sounding names are supposedly used for certain plants in countries where English is obviously not the common language. Since the book is intended at least in part for use by herbalists correct and comprehensive coverage of common names would appear to be important.In summary this wellintentioned book does not help the reader-scientist to assess the medicinal value of the plants discussed here beyond the collection of references. It may have uses for lay people and herbalists but what these might be specifically is beyond the expertise of this reviewer. Thomas Hemscheidt University of Hawaii at Manoa Amino Acids Peptides and Proteins J. S. Davies Senior Reporter Specialist Periodical Reports Royal Society of Chemistry Cambridge Volume 30 1999 xvi 398 pp. ¢G159.50 ISBN 0-85404-222-9; Volume 31 2000 xvi 446 pp. ¢G179.50 ISBN 0-85404-227-X These are the thirtieth and thirty-first annual volumes of this excellent Specialist Periodical Report. They update coverage of the literature in the field to the end of 1997 and of 1998 respectively.Volume 30 contains five chapters the four ¡§core chapters¡� reviewing (i) amino acids (ii) peptide synthesis (iii) biological and conformational studies on peptides and (iv) cyclic modified and conjugated peptides. The fifth chapter of Volume 30 is the regular biennial chapter on £]-lactam chemistry. Volume 31 contains six chapters the four ¡§core chapters¡� of Volume 30 being updated and an additional two chapters reporting work on metal complexes of amind peptides and on current trends in protein research. Between them the reviewers have cited 3,053 references to the literature in Volume 30 and 3132 references in Volume 31. The first chapter in both volumes as always covers amino acids and is reported by Dr Graham Barrett. The chapter follows a familiar pattern in both volumes.After a brief introduction and discussion of review articles and books the isolation of known and new amino acids from natural sources and from hydrolysates of naturally occurring peptides is discussed. There is a large section on the synthesis of racemic and homochiral natural and ¡§unnatural¡� amino acids reflecting the growth of interest in this important area. It includes enantioselective synthesis and the use of enzymes in synthesis. Resolution of -amino acids by a variety of methods is covered. A section on physico-chemical studies of amino acids covers X-ray crystal structure NMR spectroscopy optical rotatory dispersion and circular dichroism mass spectrometry molecular orbital calculations and other methods including host¡Vguest studies. Chemical studies of amino acids are covered as are analytical methods such as GLC TLC HPLC ion exchange chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis.Assays for specific amino acids involving colorimetric spectroscopic chemiluminescence and electrochemical methods are covered and many of these involve the use of enzymes. Dr Donald Elmore is reporter in both volumes for the second chapter covering peptide synthesis. Although new techniques for peptide synthesis are becoming less numerous applications of peptide synthesis increase. The reporter has covered this topic in both volumes in a commendably brief manner while still allowing the reader comprehensive access to the 1997 and 1998 literature. This has been achieved by listing the syntheses reported in appendices according to peptide name and literature citation.Amino carboxy and side-chain protection are discussed as are disulfide bond formation peptide bond formation use of solid supports combinatorial synthesis and enzyme mediated synthesis and semi-synthesis. Dr Anand Dutta is reporter for the third chapter in both volumes. This describes analogue and conformational studies on peptides hormones and other biologically active peptides. The chapter is written from the point of view of a medicinal chemist and includes the relationship between structure and biological activity. Rigid di- and tri-peptide turn mimetics aminomethylene hydroxyethylene dihydroxyethylene and hydroxyethylamine analogues double bond and ketomethylene isosteres and retro- and retro-inverso pseudopeptides are covered and cyclic peptides are discussed.A considerable section of the chapter in both volumes is devoted to biologically active peptides which are grouped according to the diseases to which they relate or to the parent peptide for which they are analogues. There is also considerable discussion of enzyme inhibitors phage library leads and inhibitors of protein¡Vprotein interaction. Chapter 4 written by the senior reporter in both volumes discusses cyclic modified and conjugated peptides. These are described in terms of isolation from natural sources synthesis and biological chemical and physical properties. The series from cyclodipeptides to cyclododecapeptides is described and there was particular activity in research on cyclopentapeptides in 1997. Cyclodepsipeptides phosphopeptides and lipopeptides are discussed and prominence is given to the considerable amount of research on glycopeptides.Chapter 5 the final chapter of Volume 30 reported by Professor Christopher Schofield is the biennial discussion of £]-lactam chemistry work from 1996 and 1997 being covered. Attempts to combat bacterial resistance have led to a continuing interest in developing new £]-lactam antibiotics but new structural variants are rare. The significant progress in elucidating £]-lactam biosynthesis continues and genetic and X-ray results have given a greater understanding of the mechanism of penicillin biosynthesis. Work on cephalosporin clavam and carbapenem biosynthesis is also described as is the continuing work on class A B and C £]-lactamases. The remainder of the chapter describes work on the synthesis chemistry structure¡V activity relationships and physical and theoretical studies on the various known classes of £]-lactam antibiotics and their analogues and of simpler azetidinones.Chapter 5 in Volume 31 written by E. Farkas and I. Svg covers work done on metal complexes of amino acids and peptides and related ligands in 1997 and 1998. As in previous volumes the papers are classified under the three headings (i) synthesis and structural studies (ii) solution equilibria and (iii) reactivity and kinetics. The increasing interest in bio-inorganic chemistry makes this chapter of increasing importance. Chapter 6 in Volume 31 on current trends in protein research is written by the protein crystallographer Jennifer Littlechild and covers the literature for 1997 and 1998. The wealth of information available has meant that she has had to be selective in her coverage but she has included topics such as the importance of protein conformation in disease human proteins protein chaperonines enzyme catalysis RNA and DNA binding proteins and metalloproteins.These volumes although relatively expensive present a comprehensive review of important science at the chemistry/biology interface and will be welcomed by chemists biochemists and medicinal chemists as a way of updating their knowledge. The literature coverage is very comprehensive which probably accounts for the fact that although the volumes have cut-off dates for literature coverage of the end of 1997 and 1998 respectively they were not published until 1999 and 2000 respectively. Douglas Young Sussex University 359 Nat. Prod.Rep. 2001 18 356¡V360Virtual Screening for Bioactive Molecules Eds. H.-J. Böhm and G. Schneider Wiley–VCH Weinheim Germany xvii 307 pp. price £80 ISBN 3-527-30153-4 For all the power of Combinatorial Chemistry and High Throughput Screening (HTS) to make and assay hundreds of thousands of compounds these techniques can only cover a tiny fraction of the vast number of conceivable molecules. Thus it is essential to focus HTS on appropriate regions of chemical space. Virtual Screening is the application of fast and approximate computational techniques to produce a library enriched in molecules likely to be bioactive while filtering out those predicted to have unsuitable properties. This collection contains 12 reviews by 29 authors which provide a valuable overview of Virtual Screening.They exhibit both similarity of subject matter with some obvious clustering in conceptual space and diversity of approach. Some are unashamedly from the perspective of one group or company while others try hard to paint a broader picture. Some cite the literature comprehensively others in only a cursory manner. All are competently written and most are also internally well structured and commendably up to date. As a work of reference it will serve its purpose well collecting together many important ideas definitions and citations. There is both a thorough Table of Contents and an index. The volume describes extensively techniques for library filtering and the prediction of lipophilicity solubility and drug-likeness.Methods from further down the drug discovery pipeline are also highlighted such as conformational analysis docking of candidate molecules to target proteins predicting binding affinities and developing leads to obtain even better candidates. My personal highlight is Martin Stahl’s illuminating review of scoring functions docking methods and ligand design with 212 references as testimony to its thoroughness. I also particularly enjoyed the discussion of descriptor-based similarity screening by John Barnard Geoffrey Downs and Peter Willett with its valuable tabulation of the definitions of various similarity and distance measures. My main criticism is that one gets the impressioof a random walk through chemical informatics and not a self-avoiding one at that.A closing Summary helping to draw together the many strands and place them in a wider context might have helped the coherency of the volume as might some re-ordering of the articles. I did also notice a number of errors which detract somewhat from the work’s authority. 360 Nat. Prod. Rep. 2001 18 356–360 Much excellent scholarship has gone into this volume and I hope that it will find an audience. As with so many academic books the price may limit the number of personal copies sold but library copies deserve to be well used. Dr John B. O. Mitchell University of Cambridge UK Biologically Active Natural Products Pharmaceuticals Eds. S. J. Cutler and H. G. Cutler CRC Press Baton Rouge 2000 277 pp. price £66.99 ISBN 0-8493-1887-4 Around one half of the best-selling drugs are either natural products or have structures modeled upon natural products.Even combinatorial chemists often use a natural product template to construct their libraries of novel structures. The whole area is vast and needs reviewing from time to time and I had hoped that this book would fulfil this need. However it is yet another volume that has been assembled from conference proceedings and since the particular ACS meeting took place in 1997 the contributions are already three years old. There are eighteen contributions and the whole is rather a hotch-potch of topics with not much information on mainstream drug development. That said there are some highlights including a chapter on cancer preventitive agents; a good review of what is known about the structure–activity relationships of artemisinin analogues; and a long overdue summary of research to determine the true biological functions of ginseng. Synthetic chemists will find something of interest in a chapter that provides chemical highlights of routes to inter alia podophyllins quassinoids and camptothecin analogues. There are also several esoteric but interesting reviews on for example the basis for the cytoprotective effects of green tea and licorice; on attempts to assess the biodiversity of Suriname; and potential uses of lobeline in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease Parkinson’s disease schizophrenia and breaking the smoking habit. The book concludes with a useful discussion by James McChesney on commercialisation of plant-derived pharmaceuticals. Overall the book might have been better titled Some Biologically Interesting Natural Products because it actually contains very little information about pharmaceuticals. John Mann Queen’s University Belfast