Bioactive metabolites structure-activity relationships

In this chapter, a rationale of the structure-activity relationships of various series of bioactive secondary metabolites from Indo-Pacific marine invertebrates is reviewed. These include alkaloids, terpenes and polybrominated diphenyl ethers which were subjected to a series of bioassays in search for insecticidal, antibacterial, fungicidal, and cytotoxic lead compounds. From these various biotests, it was observed that the bioactivity of an analogue is not due to general toxicity but rather possesses a degree of specificity on a particular target biomolecule. The relationship between chemical structures and biological activity is related to the specific action of a compound. 

The present volume reflects these developments, and there is a growing emphasis on bioactive natural products. Articles in this volume include those on structure-activity relationships of highly sweet natural products, chemical constituents of cchinodenns, diterpenoids from Rabdosia and Eremophila sp., structural studies on saponins, marine sesquiterpene quinoncs and antimicrobial activity of amphibian venoms. The reviews on bioactive metabolites of Phomopsis, cardenolide detection by ELISA, xenocoumacins and bioactive dihydroisocoumarins, CD studies of carbohydrate-molybdate complexes, oncogene function inhibitors from microbial secondary metabolites and Gelsemium and Lupin alkaloids present frontier developments in several areas of natural product chemistry. It is hoped that the present volume, which contains articles by eminent authorities in each field, will be received with the same enthusiasm as the previous volumes of this series. 

---