Recent Advances in Redox Active Plant and Microbial Products: From Basic Chemistry to Widespread Applications in Medicine and Agriculture

ISBN-13: 9789401789523 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 482 str.

Claus Jacob;Paul G. Winyard;Gilbert Kirsch

Opis

Nature endows us with a treasure chest of Green Gold full of amazing 'redox-active' substances which interfere with numerous biological processes in our own body, in animals, bacteria, fungi and plants. Whilst such natural products are all around and also in us, we still do not fully understand how these compounds actually work. This book attempts to resolve some of the mysteries and riddles associated with such products. Written by more than thirty international experts from academia and industry, it places a focus on modern developments in this field and considers such natural products from various angles, from their isolation and characterization all along to product development and commercialization. Throughout, the reader will be confronted with modern approaches which enable the efficient identification and isolation of new natural products, help to elucidate their mode(s) of action and permit practical uses in Medicine, Cosmetics, Agriculture, Industry and as functional foods.

Spis treści

1. Introduction

2. Sources of redox active secondary metabolites; Agnieszka Bartoszek

3. The modern art of identification of natural substances in whole plants (I); Patrick Chaimbault

4. A word on redox activity; Torsten Burkholz and Claus Jacob

5. Oxidative stress, antioxidants, chemoprevention and beneficial roles of pro-oxidants; Lars-Oliver Klotz

6. The French paradox at Tea time: From flavonoids toward synthetic stilbene-based drugs; Oualid Talhi, Diana C.G.A. Pinto, Artur Silva

7. Bioreactivity of resveratrol in relation to inflammatory processes; Norbert Latruffe; Alan Lançon, Emeric Limage, Jean-Jacques Michaille

8. Treasures along the oligomeric road from flavonoids to polyphenols and tannins; Hadi Ebrahimnejad, Torsten Burkholz and Claus Jacob

9. The cellular thiolstat as emerging target of secondary metabolites; Martin Gruhlke, Alan Slusarenko

10. Thiosulfinates, organic polysulfanes and related compounds: From an unusual chemistry toward a wealth of potential applications; Ifeanyi D. Nwachukwu, Alan J. Slusarenko

11. Beyond glutathione:- Different low molecular weight thiols as mediators of redox regulation and other metabolic functions in lower organisms; Chris Hamilton, Miriam Arbach, Murree Groom

12. Garlic based natural “products”: Turning secondary plant metabolites into a commercial success; Awais Anwar, Murree Groom, Miriam Arbach, Chris Hamilton

13. Phytol, a chlorophyll component with anti-inflammatory properties; Peter Olofsson, Malin Hultqvist, Lars I. Hellgren and Rikard Holmdahl

14. Recent advances in molecular genetics of furanocoumarin synthesis in higher plants; Frédéric Bourgaud, Alexandre Olry, Alain Hehn

15. Natural products molten together: Towards multifunctional hybrid molecules with specific activities and applications; Gilbert Kirsch Sergio Valente 

16. Nanotaxis for antioxidants; Cornelia M. Keck, Rainer H. Müller and Karl-Herbert Schäfer

17. Industrial uses of redox active enzymes; Jennifer A. Littlechild, Michail Isupov

18. Systemic enzyme therapy – Fact or Fiction?; Peter Meiser, Zhanjie Xu, Gilbert Kirsch and Claus Jacob

19. Conclusions and outlook

Blurb

Nature endows us with a treasure chest of Green Gold full of amazing substances we can use as part of our daily life. Many of these compounds are ‘redox-active’, and hence able to trigger or interfere with numerous biological processes which occur in our own body, in animals, bacteria, fungi and plants. The resulting, often rather astonishing events witnessed once such natural products meet biological systems, are omnipresent. We protect our body from damage with the help of (redox-active) vitamins, use redox-active antioxidants on our skin to look better and younger and even try to slow down the natural ageing process by stimulating sirtuins and meddling with epigenetic processes. We habitually consume functional foods enriched in polyphenols, for instance in form of grape seed flour, use redox-active plant metabolites as medicines and also spray them on our roses in the hope to improve our own life and the ones of our beloved shrubs.

Amazingly, whilst such natural products are all around and also in us, we still do not fully understand how these compounds actually work. This book therefore attempts to resolve some of the mysteries and riddles associated with such products. Written by more than thirty international experts from academia and industry, the book places a firm focus on modern, forward-looking developments in this field and considers such natural products from various angles, from their isolation and characterization all along to product development, licensing and commercialization. Throughout, the reader will be confronted with a medley of modern approaches which enable the fast and efficient identification and isolation of new natural products, help to elucidate their biochemical mode(s) of action and form the basis for their practical uses in Medicine, Cosmetics, Agriculture, Industry and as functional foods. Emerging new techniques, such as extraction and purification methods based on supercritical fluids, cutting-edge mass spectrometry for rapid identification, nanocrystals to improve bioavailability, synthetic chemistry to create hybrid molecules and product development to arrive at commercially viable products will be portrayed. Ultimately, the book provides a better understanding of the field of redox-active secondary metabolites and also attempts to stimulate further interest in this amazing, facet-rich and thriving area of multidisciplinary research and product development.