An exploration of the critical role of plant-derived natural products in the discovery and development of pharmaceutical agents

Illustrated throughout with a rich collection of rare and historical images, Medicinal Chemistry of Plant-Derived Natural Products provides a complete overview of the role of plants in drug discovery and development.

Medicinal Chemistry of Plant-Derived Natural Products includes essential information covering practically all medicinal agents from plant origins studied in both chemical and pharmacological aspects. The book incorporates a wealth of primary information and references, including seminal publications and contemporary reviews.

Among others, it includes some biosynthetic pathways, selected synthesis and /or semi-synthesis as well as pharmacological colour schemes where these drugs interact in order to cause their response(s). Chapters incorporate an historical background focusing the plant-drug prototype and its further evolution.

Ideal for students, graduates, Professors preparing their lectures and researchers in academia and industry, Medicinal Chemistry of Plant-Derived Natural Products offers invaluable insights into the journey of transforming plants into pharmaceuticals.

The book represents a complementary contribution to the author’s previous volume The Evolution of Drug Discovery: From Traditional Medicine to Modern Drugs (Wiley-VCH, 2011), and deals with plant-derived drug prototypes, semisynthetic to drugs inspired by the original, natural prototype, as well as raw plant substances as starting materials for drug synthesis. Together these books represent an agile approach to medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry organized on the basis of the origin of current drugs.

Enrique Raviña was born in Teo, province of La Coruña, Spain. He studied Pharmacy at the University of Santiago de Compostela. He completed his PhD in 1969 and, in 1975 was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry. From 1981 until 2012 he served as Professor of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) where he presently is Professor ad honorem. Professor Raviña was Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy (1989–1995). He is a member of Spanish Royal Academy of Pharmacy and a founding member of the Spanish Society of Therapeutical Chemistry. Also, he has been a membership of the American Chemical Society and of its Division of Medicinal Chemistry. Professor Raviña has published more than 120 papers in reputed journals, has been reviewer of the main Medicinal & Pharmaceutical Chemistry Journals and has been a Lecturer in American, Asian and European Universities & Congresses. Professor Enrique Raviña is the author of four books dealing with the evolution of drug discovery.