About forty percent of the drugs currently used are derived from natural sources. Most are pure substances which are isolated from various organisms and used directly or after modification. This book describes the origin of such compounds, their chemistry and biochemistry as well as their employment in medicine. The material is arranged according to biosynthetic principles, a unique feature which places the substances in a natural context and facilitates understanding and learning of the often complicated chemical structure.

Natural materials of plant, microbial or animal origin are an important source of modern drugs. This book deals with such materials with a focus on the pure, pharmacologically active compounds which can be isolated from them. The occurrence, biosynthesis, isolation, chemistry and medical use of the compounds are described, as well as semisynthetic derivatives and the use of naturally occurring substances as templates for synthetic drugs.
Thoroughly revised since the 3rd edition many chapters have been extended to reflect the increase in knowledge and information now available. This book should be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students of pharmacognosy, pharmacy, medicinal chemistry, phytochemistry, biochemistry and to all those who are interested in natural products.

Hard back 551 pages