Natural and Synthetic Lactones: Isolation, Synthesis, Biotransformations and Biological Activity

Dear Colleagues,

Lactones are one of the most numerous compounds isolated from the natural environment. They are secondary metabolites of plants, insects, microorganisms and marine organisms. Lactones are widely distributed in foods and beverages, contributing to their specific tastes and flavors. Natural and synthetic lactones possess a broad spectrum of biological activitity, including antifeedant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities. Many lactones exhibit interesting odoriferous properties; they also function as pheromones in the world of animals, insects and microorganisms. In most cases, their structure is very complex—apart from various lactone ring sizes, they also contain additional functional groups, e.g., hydroxyl groups, carbonyl groups, ester groups or epoxide rings, or other structural elements like aromatic rings or halogen atoms. Lactones with isoprenoid structure represent a group of particular importance.

Lactones can be isolated from environmental sources or synthesized by chemical or biotechnological methods. The latter involves chemoenzymatic synthesis of optically pure lactones or biotransformations using different biocatalysts (whole cells, purified enzymes, etc.). Taking into account the influence of configurations of stereogenic centers in the molecule on the biological activity of the compounds, methods for the synthesis of lactones in optically active form are preferred.

Contributions to this Special Issue should cover all aspects of any biological activity of new lactones (anticancer, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, antimicrobial) together with their isolation, chemical and chemoenzymatic synthesis and biotransformations by different biological systems.

Prof. Czesław Wawrzeńczyk
Prof. Witold Gładkowski
Guest Editors

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