Aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students and researchers working with natural products, Professors Sunil and Bani Talapatra provide a highly accessible compilation describing all aspects of plant natural products. Beginning with a general introduction to set the context, the authors then go on to carefully detail nomenclature, occurrence, isolation, detection, structure elucidation (by both degradation and spectroscopic techniques) stereochemistry, conformation, synthesis, biosynthesis, biological activity and commercial applications of the most important natural products of plant origin. Each chapter also includes detailed references (with titles) and a list of recommended books for additional study making this outstanding treatise a useful resource for teachers of chemistry and researchers working in universities, research institutes and industry.

Introduction: enzymes, cofactors/coenzymes, primary and secondary metabolites, natural products and their functions, plant chemical ecology, biosynthesis, metabolic pathways

Fundamental Stereochemical Concepts and Nomenclatures
Important Biological Events Occurring in Plants
Natural Products Chemistry
Biosynthesis of Terpenoids, The Oldest Natural Products
Monoterpenoids (C10)
Sesquiterpenoids (C15)
Diterpenoids (C20)
Sesterpenoids (C25)
Triterpenes
Steroids: Cholesterol and Other Phytosterols
Carotenoids-GGPP Derived Polyisoprenoid (C40) Coloring Pigments
Shikimic Acid Pathway
Polyketide Pathway, Biosynthesis of Diverse Clases of Aromatic Compounds
Alkaloids: General Introduction
Hygrine, Hygroline and Cuscohygrine (Ornithine-Derived Alkaloids)
Coniine, Conhydrine and Pseudoconhydrine
Nicotine
Atropine [(±)-Hyoscyamine] and Cocaine
Ephedrine and Pseudoephedrine
Pilocarpine and Isopilocarpine
Papaverine
Morphine, Codeine, Thebaine
Colchicine
Quinine: Cinchona Alkalods
Reserpine
Strychnine, an Alkaloid with Heptacyclic Dense Molecular Scaffold
Dimeric Indole Alkaloids:Vinblastine (Vincaleukoblastine), Vineristine (Leurocristine) and Their Derivatives
Some More Alkaloids Having Diverse Skeletal Patterns
Important Outcomes of Chemical Studies on Natural Products
Chiral Recognition in Biological Systems and Natural Chiral Auxiliaries
Natural Products in the Parlor of Pharmaceuticals
Organic Phytonutrients and Their Functions
Appendices.