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Nature endows us with a treasure chest of Green Gold full of amazing ‘redox-active'substances which interfere with numerous biological processes in our own body, in animals, bacteria, fungi and plants. Whilst such natural products are all around and also in us, we still do not fully understand how these compounds actually work. This book attempts to resolve some of the mysteries and riddles associated with such products. Written by more than thirty international experts from academia and industry, it places a focus on modern developments in this field and considers such natural products from various angles, from their isolation and characterization all along to product development and commercialization. Throughout, the reader will be confronted with modern approaches which enable the efficient identification and isolation of new natural products, help to elucidate their mode(s) of action and permit practical uses in Medicine, Cosmetics, Agriculture, Industry and as functional foods.

As in so many fields of scientific endeavour following the molecular biology revo­ lution, our knowledge of the role of radicals not only in pathological states, but in basic physiology has developed exponentially. Indeed, our evolving concepts have, like so many political parties, been forced into dramatic'V-turns'and contortions. Within our working lives, we have had to debate whether radicals made any con­ tribution to any pathology, whilst now it is difficult not to entertain the view that every physiological process is pivotally controlled by exquisitely sensitive radical reactions. Inflammation is, of course, an example of pathology evolving from physiology, and in this book we have called upon both scientists and clinicians who have research interests in the complex switching mechanisms that sustain these transi­ tions. The book as a whole explores, from a physiological standpoint, how deter­ ministic radical systems sensitive to their initial conditions can interdigitate, iterate and feed back to control diverse cellular processes that create the inflammatory response. Whilst systems such as these to a mathematician would provide the basis for a chaotic response, one is forced to marvel how, for all stages of an inflammatory reaction, this system appears exquisitely controlled, making therapeutic manipula­ tion both possible and, to some extent, predictable.

This first entry-level guide to the multifaceted field takes readers one step further than existing textbooks. In an easily accessible manner, the authors integrate the biochemistry, cell biology and medical implications of intracellular redox processes, demonstrating that complex science can be presented in a clear and almost entertaining way. Perfect for students and junior researchers, this is an equally valuable addition to courses in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, and human physiology.

Free radicals have been implicated in a entire host of different human disease states, which suggests that although they may not have a pivotal causal role, they are involved in the perpetuation of disease. In recentyears, it has become evident that although free radicals most certainly do have this role in perpetuating inflammatory reactions, they have perhaps a far more important role in acting as second messenger systems to maintain normal cell function. It is theperturbations of these reactions which pose the most intriguing therapeutic challenges. This volume deals with various basic mechanisms of free radical processes and injury. The emphasis in each case is on potential therapeutic strategies developing fromthis new knowledge.