Natural Products as Molecular Messengers

The chemistry of naturally occurring compounds has long been pursued in the search for medicines, dyes, pesticides, flavors, and fragrances. In addition, the deeper aim of understanding life itself as a chemical phenomenon has motivated generations of scientists. One consequence of such studies has...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of natural products (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2011-03, Vol.74 (3), p.305-309
Main Author: Meinwald, Jerrold
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry. Physiology. Immunology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Products - chemistry
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Insecta
Invertebrates
Molecular Structure
Physiology. Development
Signal Transduction
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The chemistry of naturally occurring compounds has long been pursued in the search for medicines, dyes, pesticides, flavors, and fragrances. In addition, the deeper aim of understanding life itself as a chemical phenomenon has motivated generations of scientists. One consequence of such studies has been the realization that natural products often serve central roles as biological signaling agents. We consider natural products from the viewpoint of the organisms that produce and/or respond to them and suggest how a naturally occurring compound may acquire its role in chemical communication.
ISSN:0163-3864
1520-6025
DOI:10.1021/np100754j