This informative book focuses on the nutritional value of potatoes and ways to improve it. With the world reeling under the burden of an ever-growing population, there is a pressing need for affordable and nutritious staples to feed the billions. Potatoes are grown in a broad range of countries around the world and can substantially contribute to future food security. Given the increasing consumption of potatoes, there is a need for a book that compiles information on and raises awareness of their nutritional value, while also encouraging their consumption. The respective chapters of this book cover the chemical composition, structure and health benefits of potatoes, as well as genetic modifications used to alter the concentration of relevant chemical compounds in them. The book provides an overview of potatoes as a nutrient-dense crop, and discusses important aspects such as the role of potatoes in human diet, how they can improve the overall health of individuals, their role in addressing malnutrition etc. Its chapters deal with topics such as carbohydrates and glycemic index, dietary fibers, vitamins, proteins, phenols, carotenoids, anthocyanins, minerals, lipids, glycoalkaloids, new health-promoting compounds, the composition and utilization of potato peel, nutritional significance of potato products, and potato probiotics. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in plant physiology and biochemistry, plant genetic engineering, the food sciences and agriculture, as well as industry partners in related fields.

Over the past four decades, there has been immense progress in every area of lignin science, ranging from the enzymology of lignin biodegradation, to the delignification of wood fiber during pulping and bleaching, to advances in spectroscopy. Lignin and Lignans: Advances in Chemistry captures the developments that have been achieved by world-class scientists in the most critical aspects of this burgeoning field. Tools for the characterization of lignin and lignans After an overview of the topic, the book discusses the significance and comparative performances of the most commonly used chemical degradation methods and presents lignin structural information based on the use of these methods. Next, the book explores spectroscopic methods, including UV-visible absorption, fluorescence, Raman, infra red (IR), near-infrared (NIR), nuclear magenetic resonance (NMR), and heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. It then compares the results of studies of lignin in situ with studies of isolated lignins. Predicting reactivity The authors discuss polymer properties related to thermal stability and molecular motion of lignin in the solid state. They describe applications of electronic structure calculations to the chemistry of lignin, and they explore lignin reactions that occur during the chemical pulping of wood by soda, kraft, AQ, and polysulfide processes. Chemistry associated with industrial processes The book describes chemical pulp bleaching, oxidative and reductive lignin-retaining bleaching, and lignin biodegradation. It also examines the application of microorganisms and the enzymes they produce in the manufacturing of chemical and mechanical pulp. The book closes with chapters on photodegradation and chromophore formation and the pharmacological properties of lignans. Highlighting significant developments on selected topics, this essential reference for those in industry and academia is designed to fuel further research and discovery in this specialized area, especially in the emerging field of biorefining.

To exploit the full potential of this diverse compound class for the development of novel active substances, this handbook presents the latest knowledge on carbohydrate chemistry and biochemistry. While it is unique in covering the entire field, particular emphasis is placed on carbohydrates with pharmaceutical potential.
Topics include the following:
> Chemical Synthesis of Carbohydrates
> Carbohydrate Biosynthesis and Metabolism
> Carbohydrate Analysis
> Cellular Functions of Carbohydrates
> Development of Carbohydrate-based Drugs
A premier resource for carbohydrate chemists and drug developers, this comprehensive two-volume work contains contributions by more than 50 of the world's leading carbohydrate chemists.

This book explores the use of various plant polysaccharides for pharmaceutical purposes, including drug delivery. It examines the exploitation of plant polysaccharides' auxiliary functions to enhance drug release, stability, bioavailability and target specificity. Plant-derived materials are at the center of drug-delivery research thanks to their non-toxicity, biodegradability, ready availability, eco-friendliness and low extraction costs. These materials include polysaccharides, a class of naturally occurring polymers consisting of glucose monomers, which serve as storage carbohydrates in cereals, root vegetables, rhizomes, seeds, fruits, etc.

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field. All chapters from Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry are published Online First with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Heterocycl Chem and cited as a journal.

This book summarizes the recent advances in applications of starch in state-of-the-art drug carriers (hydrogel, micro- and nano-particulate carriers) with stimulus-responsive and target-specific properties. It also highlights the role of starch and its derivatives in transmucosal administration to improve the bioavailability of drugs. Further, it outlines the principles of effective, advanced, starch-based drug delivery systems and illustrates how these principles are key to the development of future drug delivery strategies. This interesting reference resource is useful for students, researchers and engineers in the fields of carbohydrate chemistry, polymer sciences and drug delivery.

The series Topics in Organometallic Chemistry presents critical overviews of research results in organometallic chemistry. As our understanding of organometallic structure, properties and mechanisms increases, new ways are opened for the design of organometallic compounds and reactions tailored to the needs of such diverse areas as organic synthesis, medical research, biology and materials science. Thus the scope of coverage includes a broad range of topics of pure and applied organometallic chemistry, where new breakthroughs are being achieved that are of significance to a larger scientific audience. The individual volumes of Topics in Organometallic Chemistry are thematic. Review articles are generally invited by the volume editors. All chapters from Topics in Organometallic Chemistry are published OnlineFirst with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Organometallic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Organomet Chem and cited as a journal.

This book is devoted to the characterization of Maillard reaction products using mass spectrometry (MS)-based technologies. The Maillard reaction is a well-known non-enzymatic reaction between reducing sugars and proteins, and one of the most important reactions in food sciences. The authors explore different MS-based technologies to systematically investigate the Maillard reaction from amino acids, peptides and proteins. By using amino acid/peptide-sugar models, the authors also show how reactants, temperature and time affect the Maillard reaction. In this book, readers will learn more about glucosylation, and how it can improve functional properties of food proteins.

This brief explores polysaccharides, the most abundant family of naturally occurring polymers, and explains how they have gained considerable attention in recent decades as a source of innovative bio-based materials. The authors present a range of material including an extensive array of polysaccharide hybrid nanomaterials with distinct applications. The most recent knowledge regarding polysaccharide-based hybrid nanomaterials with metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs), carbon nanotubes and graphene is presented as well as the main polysaccharides, namely cellulose, chitin and chitosan, starch and their most relevant derivatives. The book features a description of important production methodologies, properties, and applications of these types of hybrids.

This book effectively links the latest scientific advances to current technological applications of polymers, mainly focusing on biodegradable polymers obtained from biomass. The individual chapters were written by academic and industry researchers alike, introducing readers to topics that have received little attention in the literature to date. Key topics covered include polymers used in various areas such as food packaging, pharmaceuticals, energy production and the cosmetics industry, as well as the treatment of aqueous effluents.

This book offers a clearly written and highly accessible account of two different aspects of carbohydrate chemistry. Carbohydrates are an essential component of life and have many important biological functions, but the details of how carbohydrates interact with other biomolecules to mediate biological signalling remain unclear. Firstly, this thesis details innovative methods to mine protein structural data to uncover new features of carbohydrate-based interactions. It also explains these findings using physical chemistry, specifically CH-pi interactions associated with the properties of the interacting partners. Carbohydrates are also critical for tissue growth and development, yet are underexploited in the materials science that underpins much of regenerative medicine. As such, the second part of this thesis describes a diverse array of techniques ranging from synthetic chemistry and enzymatic synthesis to prepare a wide variety of carbohydrates, and materials chemistry to prepare glycosylated hydrogels, to cell biology to determine the effects on cellular development for tissue engineering applications.

This second edition is a short and comprehensive study on the best known approaches for preparing the main types of glycosides. It covers synthetic pathways of challenging glycosides known as antiviral or antineoplastic drugs, and synthetic substrates used for enzymatic detection, including those used for detection of gene markers in plant biotechnology. The author pays special attention to the structural characterization of glycosides and provides the basic tools for the structural assignment through NMR, X-Ray and mass spectra techniques. The book also covers strategies for preparation of antiviral and antineoplastic drugs included in a drug design course.

This unique book covers the latest developments in coupling and decoupling of biomolecules containing functionalized carbohydrate components, being one of the first collections in this important area of applied medicinal chemistry. Connecting molecules, often referred as bio-conjugation, has become one of the most often performed procedures in modern medicinal chemistry. Sometimes, when the connected molecules are not useful anymore, they must be disconnected. The molecules that must be connected (coupled) may belong to both small and large molecules and include such constructs as glycoproteins, glycopeptides and glycans. In this work, more than 15 experts address a comprehensive range of potential and current uses of in vitro and in vivo bio-conjugation methodologies, leading to a variety of glycoconjugates. The analytical aspects of bio-conjugation are also here discussed. Medicinal and organic chemists from graduate level onwards will understand the appeal of this important book.

This book effectively links the latest scientific advances to current technological applications of polymers, mainly focusing on biodegradable polymers obtained from biomass. The individual chapters were written by academic and industry researchers alike, introducing readers to topics that have received little attention in the literature to date. Key topics covered include polymers used in various areas such as food packaging, pharmaceuticals, energy production and the cosmetics industry, as well as the treatment of aqueous effluents.

The study of functional glycomics requires the continuous development of rapid and sensitive methods for the identification of glycan structures and integration to structure-function relationships. In Functional Glycomics: Methods and Protocols, a panel of world-renowned experts provide new developments and emerging glycomics techniques in the form of detailed protocols exploring the fundamental challenges and most cutting-edge novel applications. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters in this volume present brief introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes sections, highlighting key tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easy to use, Functional Glycomics: Methods and Protocols serves as an ideal reference for scientists working in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, immunology, microbiology, and virology and a guide to appropriate techniques and the design of achievable research plans in this vital field.

Medicinal chemistry is both science and art. The science of medicinal chemistry offers mankind one of its best hopes for improving the quality of life. The art of medicinal chemistry continues to challenge its practitioners with the need for both intuition and experience to discover new drugs. Hence sharing the experience of drug research is uniquely beneficial to the field of medicinal chemistry. Drug research requires interdisciplinary team-work at the interface between chemistry, biology and medicine. Therefore, the topic-related series Topics in Medicinal Chemistry covers all relevant aspects of drug research, e.g. pathobiochemistry of diseases, identification and validation of (emerging) drug targets, structural biology, drugability of targets, drug design approaches, chemogenomics, synthetic chemistry including combinatorial methods, bioorganic chemistry, natural compounds, high-throughput screening, pharmacological in vitro and in vivo investigations, drug-receptor interactions on the molecular level, structure-activity relationships, drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicology and pharmacogenomics. In general, special volumes are edited by well known guest editors.

This thesis presents a general approach to accessing nitrogen-substituted hetero- and carbocycles. In short, the annulation reactions developed in the thesis make it possible to access nitrogen-substituted four-, five- and six-membered rings, all essential building blocks for the synthesis of bioactive molecules. Many natural products display a saturated polycyclic core allowing a well-defined arrangement of functional groups in space. As such, they can interact with biological targets with a high degree of affinity and selectivity, surpassing many synthetic drugs. Nevertheless, the efficient synthesis of such complex ring systems poses a challenge for organic chemistry. Through careful tuning of the electronic properties of a nitrogen donor group and a diester acceptor group, the first [3+2] annulation reaction between aminocyclopropanes and enol ethers or carbonyl compounds is now possible. The reaction proceeded under mild catalytic conditions, and the building blocks obtained can be found at the core of bioactive alkaloids, drugs such as Ramipril and biomolecules such as DNA and RNA. Thanks to the dynamic kinetic asymmetric annulation of aminocyclopropanes with enol ethers and aldehydes, access to enantioenriched compounds is also now possible. Lastly, a synthesis of donor-acceptor aminocyclobutanes via [2+2] cycloaddition using a cheap iron catalyst was developed, allowing them to be used in [4+2] annulations to access cyclohexylamines.

Glycosyltransferases (GTs) are essential for the biosynthesis of complex glycoconjugates and are powerful tools to study the functions of complex glycans in health, development and disease. Complex glycoconjugates, such as glycoproteins, proteoglycans and glycolipids, are assembled by GTs which synthesize specific linkages between sugars or sugars and protein. This is in contrast to the non-specific or less specific chemical glycation reactions, transglycosylation and reverse glycosylation reactions. Glycosyltransferases: Methods and Protocols contains a wide range of studies, methods and protocols which form a solid basis for investigations of the role and mechanisms, biology and pathology involving GTs. Written in the successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and easily accessible, Glycosyltransferases: Methods and Protocols is a vital contribution to glycobiology and glycopathology, and to applications of these enzymes in biotechnology and drug development. It will prove invaluable to students, postdoctoral fellows, and senior scientists carrying on research of GTs that has been intensified over the last years.

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field.

The book deals with polar effects in carbohydrates and how these effects control the stereochemistry of carbohydrate reactions. This is important for understanding the mechanisms of certain carbohydrate reactions, including enzymatic reactions such as glycosidases, a very important group of enzymes in living matter. It is also very useful for synthetic carbohydrate chemists who would like to synthesize stereoselectively certain classes of carbohydrates. This book will be a very important source of information for practicing synthetic carbohydrate chemists. The book will also be helpful for organic chemists, or for those studying glycobiology.

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field. All chapters from Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry are published Online First with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Heterocycl Chem and cited as a journal

The series Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry presents critical reviews on present and future trends in the research of heterocyclic compounds. Overall the scope is to cover topics dealing with all areas within heterocyclic chemistry, both experimental and theoretical, of interest to the general heterocyclic chemistry community. The series consists of topic related volumes edited by renowned editors with contributions of experts in the field. All chapters from Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry are published Online First with an individual DOI. In references, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry is abbreviated as Top Heterocycl Chem and cited as a journal.

This SpringerBrief focuses on clinical nutrition research, particularly on the effects of slowly absorbed carbohydrates on postprandial glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetes. Slowlyabsorbed carbohydrates will cause gradual increases in blood glucose and insulin levels, and may therefore be effective as part of a treatment strategy for glycemic control and reduction of cardiovascular complications in type 2 diabetes.

Renowned experts give all essential aspects of the techniques and applications of graft copolymers based on polysaccharides. Polysaccharides are the most abundant natural organic materials and polysaccharide based graft copolymers are of great importance and widely used in various fields. Natural polysaccharides have recently received more attention due to their advantages over synthetic polymers by being non-toxic, biodegradable and available at low cost. Modification of polysaccharides through graft copolymerization improves the properties of polysaccharides. Grafting is known to improve the characteristic properties of the backbones. Such properties include water repellency, thermal stability, flame resistance, dye-ability and resistance towards acid-base attack and abrasion. Polysaccharides and their graft copolymers find extensive applications in diversified fields. Applications of modified polysaccharides include drug delivery devices, controlled release of fungicides, selective water absorption from oil-water emulsions, purification of water etc.

This brief presents a valuable and concise overview of organocatalytic methodologies in carbohydrate chemistry. It includes glycosylation processes with de novo syntheses of carbohydrates and chain elongation of carbohydrates. The author, an academic of international distinction, goes on to make comparisons between traditional organic and metalorganic transformations.