Intro; Preface; References; Contents; List of Contributors; The Search for Anticancer Agents from Tropical Plants; 1 Introduction; 2 Clinically Used Plant-derived Anticancer Agents and Compounds in Clinical Trials; 2.1 Plant-derived Compounds Used Clinically as Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agents; 2.2 Examples of Derivatives of Plant Secondary Metabolites Undergoing Clinical Trials as Potential Anticancer Agents; 3 Approaches to the Discovery of Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agents from Higher Plants; 3.1 Development of Plant Collection Agreements Inclusive of Equitable Benefit Sharing.

3.2 Logistics of Conducting Plant Collections in Tropical Countries3.2.1 Countries of Origin for Tropical Plant Samples Investigated in Two Research Projects Directed Toward the Discovery of Ne ... ; 3.2.2 Selection of Plants for Collection; 3.2.3 Logistics of Plant Collection Expeditions; 3.2.4 The Conservation Challenge; 3.3 Documentation Involved in Conducting Plant Collections in Tropical Countries; 3.3.1 Plant Samples and Their Herbarium Vouchers; 3.3.2 Field Notebook; 3.3.3 Field Label Data.

3.4 Processing of Collected Materials and Considerations Concerning the Export and Import of Plant Materials3.4.1 Processing of Collected Plant Samples; 3.4.2 Processing of Voucher Herbarium Specimens; 3.4.3 Exporting and Importing Collected Plant Materials; 3.5 Specific Phytochemical Considerations; 3.6 Biological Testing of Initial Extracts, Chromatographic Fractions, and Purified Constituents and Their Analogs; 4 Examples of Lead Bioactive Compounds Obtained from Tropical Plants; 4.1 Betulinic Acid; 4.2 Pervilleines A-C and F; 4.3 Phyllanthusmins C and D; 4.4 Silvestrol.

4.4.1 Backgound Phytochemical Studies on Aglaia Species (Meliaceae)4.4.2 Isolation of Silvestrol and Structurally Related Dioxanyl Ring-Containing Compounds from Aglaia Species; 4.4.3 Chemical Synthesis Methods for Silvestrol and Related Dioxanyl Ring-Containing Compounds; 4.4.4 Biological Testing and Mechanism of Action Evaluation of Silvestrol; 5 Conclusions; References; An Update of Erythrinan Alkaloids and Their Pharmacological Activities; 1 Introduction; 2 An Update of the Erythrinan Alkaloids; 2.1 D-oxa or Lactone Erythrinan Alkaloids.

2.2 Conjugate (Hydrolyzable) Dimeric Erythrinan Alkaloids2.3 True Dimeric Erythrinan Alkaloids; 2.4 Trimeric Erythrinan Alkaloids; 3 Pharmacological Properties of Erythrinan Alkaloids; 3.1 Central Nervous System and Related Activities; 3.2 Antioxidant Activities; 3.3 Anti-inflammatory and Related Activities; 3.4 Antimicrobial Activities; 3.5 Antiprotozoal Activities; 3.6 Antifeedant and Insecticidal Activities; 3.7 Cytotoxicity and Other Activities Related to Cancer; 4 Synthesis Aspects; 5 Conclusions; References.