This volume contains the lectures presented at the NATO sponsored conference on "Marine Natural Products" held in Jersey, Channel Islands, U. K., October 12-17, 1976. The intent of the organising committee was to encourage a dialogue between organic chemists who study the metabolites of marine organisms and biolo gists, ecologists, and pharmacologists who study the effects of these metabolites on other organisms. A feature of the conference was the three workshop sessions on chemotaxonomy, applications of marine natural products, and chemical communication. The papers presented at the conference contain a mixture of original research in marine natural products and reviews of some of the more important subjects. The biologists were asked to present papers which could initiate new directions for marine natural products research. Their contributions to the meeting were warmly received by the chemists in the audience. We hope that this volume contains not only past and present research but a suggestion of future research trends. The conference was first suggested by Dr. E. D. Goldberg. The organising committee, Drs. G. Blunden, D. J. Faulkner, W.

Bioactive Marine Natural Products is the first book available that covers all aspects of bioactive marine natural products. It fills the void in the literature for bioactive marine natural products. The book covers various aspects of marine natural products and it is hoped that all the major classes of bioactive compounds are included. Different classes of marine organisms and the separation and isolation techniques are discussed. The chemistry and biology of marine toxins, peptides, alkaloids, nucleosides and prostanoids are discussed in detail. Biological, toxicological and clinical evaluations are also dealt with to ensure that the book may be adopted at any stage by any practicing organic chemist or biologist, working in academia or in R and D divisions of pharmaceutical companies. Each chapter in the book includes an abstract to highlight the major points discussed in the text and concluding remarks are given. References to books, monographs, review articles and original papers are provided at the end of each chapter.

Volumes five and six of Bioorganic Marine Chemistry differ from their predecessors in two respects - they deal exclusively with laboratory synthesis of marine natural products and they represent the effort of a single author and his associates. The rationale for these departures is readily perceived. For several decades organic synthesis has without doubt been the most spectacular branch of organic chemistry. While the late R.B. Woodward's dictum - organic compounds can undergo only four basic reactions: they can gain electrons; they can lose electrons; they can be transformed with acid or with base - is still true, the wealth and variety of available reagents which will accomplish chemical transformations has reached staggering proportions. Little wonder then, that synthetic methodology has achieved a high degree of predictability and total synthesis of natural products has been successfully directed toward ever more challenging targets. As for the second point, that of single authorship, multiple authorship would invariably have led to gaps and overlaps, thus making it difficult to assemble and assess recent research in a systematic and comprehens ive fashion.

Volumes five and six of Bioorganic Marine Chemistry differ from their predecessors in two respects - they deal exclusively with labor atory synthesis of marine natural products and they represent the effort of a single author and his associates. The rationale for these departures is readily perceived. For several decades organic synthesis has without doubt been the most spectacular branch of organic chemistry. While the late R.B. Woodward's dictum - organic compounds can undergo only four basic reactions: they can gain electrons; they can lose electrons; they can be transformed with acid or with base - is still true, the wealth and variety of available reagents which will accomplish chemical transformations has reached staggering proportions. Little wonder then, that synthetic methodology has achieved a high degree of predictability and total synthesis of natural products has been successfully directed toward ever more challenging targets. As for the second point, that of single authorship, multiple authorship would invariably have led to gaps and overlaps, thus making it difficult to assemble and assess recent research in a systematic and comprehens ive fashion.

Marine Natural Products: Chemical and Biological Perspectives, Volume II, reviews the state of knowledge in the chemistry and biology of marine natural products. It attempts to bring together timely and critical reviews that are representative of major current researches and that, hopefully, will also foreshadow future trends. The first three chapters of this volume deal with marine carotenoids, steroids, and diterpenoids. This is followed by a chapter that examines a single phylum, the Coelenterata, and its metabolites. The Coelenterata is an almost exclusively marine phylum of some 9000 described living species. Research predicts that the coelenterates will yield a rich harvest of organic metabolites. The final chapter, which focuses on 13C NMR spectroscopy for structural elucidation, reveals the power of this instrumental method especially when applied to the difficult problems of polyhalogenated marine metabolites.

Chemistry of Marine Natural Products explores the marine environment and its chemical composition. This book discusses the factors that contribute to the increasing interest in the study of marine environment. Organized into five chapters, this text starts with a discussion on the organic compound isoprenoids. This book then examines the sterol composition in several species, including crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, and invertebrates. This text also discusses phenols and its derivatives, including bromophenols and dibrophenol. Amino acids, carbohydrates, and polymers are also presented in this book. Other chapters explain the secondary metabolites, particularly amino acids and simple amines. This book further discusses the chemistry of fatty acids and determines whether marine animals and plants elaborate any distinct fatty acids. The final chapter explores the biogenetic relationship of hydrocarbons to fatty acids. This book is intended for chemists with an interest in the marine environment. Oceanographers, marine biologists, marine scientists, pharmacologists, researchers, teachers, and students will find this book extremely useful.

"Handbook of Marine Natural Products" takes a fresh approach to describing the major themes of research in this rapidly developing field. This two volume reference work begins with a section that provides a taxonomic survey of the secondary metabolites of diverse marine life including microbes, algae, and invertebrates. This is followed by a demonstration of the techniques and strategies employed in modern structure elucidation of complex natural products. The natural roles of marine natural products are then explored in a series of focused chapters which include the topics of symbiosis, anti-predation and antifouling, chemical interactions, and defence against UV stress. Various routes which facilitate the understanding of marine natural product biosynthesis are subsequently explained and these are followed by an extensive set of chapters on the biomedical potential of marine natural products. The latter portion of this section considers the technologies and scientific disciplines necessary for advancing bioactive marine natural product lead compounds into actual pharmaceuticals. The reference work finishes with a selection of chapters describing marine toxins and their impact on public health and seafood resources. Final thoughts presented at the end of the second volume focus on the future of this field of investigation and discovery research. This publication is presented as a reference handbook and general concepts are emphasized and illustrated with numerous interesting examples, graphical information, and a comprehensive index. "Handbook of Marine Natural Products" introduces students who are at advanced undergraduate and entry graduate student levels to this fascinating multidisciplinary field. It is an ideal desk companion for courses focusing on this contemporary area.