Ajaikumar B. Kunnumakkara – författare

Inflammation and Natural Products brings together research in the area of the natural products and their anti-inflammatory action in medical, nutraceutical and food products, addressing specific chronic inflammatory diseases like cancer and the mechanistic aspects of the mode of action of some key natural products. Inflammation is a complicated process, driven by infection or injury or genetic changes, which results in triggering signalling cascades, activation of transcription factors, gene expression, increased levels of inflammatory enzymes, and release of various oxidants and pro-inflammatory molecules in inflammatory cells. Excessive oxidants and inflammatory mediators have a harmful effect on normal tissue, including toxicity, loss of barrier function, abnormal cell proliferation, inhibiting normal function of tissues and organs and finally leading to systemic disorders. The emerging development of natural product formulations utilizing the unique anti-inflammatory compounds such as polyphenols, polysaccharides, terpenes, fatty acids, proteins and several other bioactive components has shown notable successes. Inflammation and Natural Products: Recent Development and Current Status provides a comprehensive resource, ranging from detailed explanation on inflammation to molecular docking strategies for naturally occurring compounds with anti-inflammatory activity. It is useful for graduate students, academic and professionals in the fields of pharmaceutical and medical sciences and specialists from natural product-related industries.

Increases the knowledge of anti-inflammatory activities of natural products and their mechanism of action Provides a new perspective and forward-thinking ideas to researchers, the scientific community and industry Intensifies the understanding of synergistic action of biologically active naturally occurring molecules and their biological activities against inflammation

Turmeric belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and is a yellow spice of high economic importance due to its medicinal value. Cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world, it is used extensively as a colouring, flavouring and preserving agent. In recent years, several drugs derived from natural products have been developed and current drug research is actively investigating the possible therapeutic roles of many Ayurvedic medicines, most notable among those being examined is turmeric. The wide range of pharmacological activities attributed to turmeric come mainly from curcuminoids and two related compounds, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin. This comprehensive book brings together the research carried out on constituents obtained from turmeric and highlights their chemical and biological activities. Comprising 17 chapters, each written by experts in their respective field and curated by authorities, it will be invaluable to all those who are involved in the production, processing, marketing, and the use of turmeric. Appealing to researchers and professionals in natural products, nutraceuticals and food chemists, this book is exposing some of the myths and showing areas for possible future use.

Most therapeutics available today are highly toxic, very expensive and exhibit minimum efficacy. The issue of toxicity is even more critical for prevention than for therapy because the former involves normal subjects. Thus, therapeutics that are safe and affordable are needed for both prevention and therapy. Spices of Southeast Asian origin, once employed for taste, appearance and preservation of food, now appear to have therapeutic value for humans. What the active principles in these spices are and how they mediate their effect against various diseases are beginning to emerge from extensive research carried out within the last half-century. The current monograph is an attempt to address the active constituents, their molecular targets and the therapeutic uses of these spices.

Development of cancer, a dreadful disease of mankind, is a multi-stage process involving numerous molecular alterations at both genomic and proteomic levels. Immense research for the past several decades in the field of cancer identified many such mutations and their role in carcinogenesis. Concept of 'fusion genes' seeded way back in 20th century has now grown into a new field of cancer research. However, there is a lack of knowledge among scientists about these fusion genes and their importance in cancer, which can be mainly attributed to unavailability of a comprehensive book on this topic. Therefore, this book is first of its kind and aims at giving a detailed idea on the formation of gene fusions and their importance in the development and progression of cancer; techniques to identify novel gene fusions; and therapeutics available to target various fusion proteins and their impact in cancer therapy by compiling the information from the literature available till date.

Despite the significant advances in cancer therapy made through constant evaluation and analysis of treatment aftereffects, the disease still remains one of the foremost causes of mortality worldwide killing more than 12 million people annually. The prime reason behind the failure of conventional chemotherapeutics which are used as the chief regimen in the comprehensive treatment of cancers is the development of chemoresistance. It can be either intrinsic or acquired and is primarily mediated via different key regulators like MDR, MAPK, NF-κB, PI3K/Akt, Wnt signaling pathways etc. Thus, agents which can target these regulatory elements or pathways and in turn sensitize cancer cells to chemotherapy holds immense prospect. However, there is barely such comprehensive work available in scientific literature that explains how chemosensitization of cancer cells functions using different drug combinations and exhibit synergism. This book provides a detailed description of chemoresistance and chemosensitization, targets for chemosensitization and various approaches adapted in the process of chemosensitization. Furthermore, the book explicates the role of various chemosensitizers, both natural and synthetic in sensitizing cancer cells and also details the current research findings on chemosensitization of different cancer types in both pre-clinical and clinical settings.