Natural product pathways
John Mann reviews this chemistry text
Natural products (ie secondary metabolites) contributed hugely to the improved quality and longevity of life in the 20th century through their use as antibiotics and anticancer drugs, and as models for the design of synthetic drugs. The chemistry of their synthesis and biosynthesis has thus been studied for at least the past 80 years and this book focuses on the mechanisms by which the various natural product skeletons are made.
About half of the book is devoted to the fatty acids and polyketides. The coverage includes the basic chemistry of these pathways and the more recent unravelling of the effects of genetic manipulation within polyketide synthase gene modules to provide 'unnatural products'.
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