Nature has consistently provided human beings with bioactive compounds that can be used directly as drugs or indirectly as drug leads. Some of the major classes of natural bioactive compounds include phenolics, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, lignin, glycosides, terpenoids, and many more. They possess a broad range of biological activities and are primarily useful in the treatment of various health issues. At the same time, the search for new and novel drugs is never-ending and, despite major advances in synthetic chemistry, nature remains an essential resource for drug discovery.
Therefore, more and more researchers are interested in understanding the chemistry, clinical pharmacology, and beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in connection with solving human health problems. This book presents a wealth of information on natural metabolites that have been or are currently being used as drugs or leads for the discovery of new drugs. In addition, it highlights the importance of natural products against various human diseases, and their applications in the drug, nutraceuticals, cosmetics and herbal industries. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable resource for all students, educators, and healthcare experts involved in natural product research, phytochemistry, and pharmacological research.
Dr. Mohd Sayeed Akhtar (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at Gandhi Faiz-e-Aam College, Shahjahanpur, UP, India. He received his PhD degree from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India in 2008, prior to conducting post-doctoral research at the Botanical Institute, University of Basel (BIB), Switzerland (2008–2010), and at Chonbuk National University (CBNU), Republic of Korea in 2011. He was an Assistant Professor at Jimma University, Ethiopia (2011-2014), and a fellow researcher at the Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), (2014-2015). Dr. Akhtar has more than 15 years of research and 10 years of teaching experience in soil microbiology, applied microbiology, environmental microbiology, molecular biology, plant pathology and plant nanobiotechnology. He has authored or co-authored more than one hundred articles in peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings, and book chapters, and has edited 10 books with international publishers. Further, he serves as an editorial board member and reviewer for several high-impact international journals. His current research is focused on rhizospheric plant-microbe interactions and molecular biotechnology, bioremediation, biomineralization, nano-fertilizers and nanobiotechnology.
Dr. Mallappa Kumara Swamy (PhD) is a Professor and Head of the Department of Biotechnology at East West College of Science, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. He completed his postdoctoral research at the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. Before that, he had worked as an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Biotechnology, Padmashree Institute of Management and Sciences, Bangalore University, Bengaluru, India. He received his PhD (Biotechnology) from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, India in 2013. He has more than 15 years of teaching and research experience in the fields of plant biotechnology, secondary metabolite production, phytochemistry and bioactive studies. Dr. Swamy has authored 80 research publications in peer-reviewed journals and 16 book chapters. Recently, he has edited four books published by Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd., Singapore. He also serves as an editorial board member and reviewer for several high-impact international journals. His current research is focused on cell and tissue culture technology for bioactive compound production, and on nanotechnology for medical applications.
