Selected Papers from the 30th International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products and the 10th International Congress on Biodiversity (ISCNP30 and ICOB10)

Dear Colleagues,

On behalf of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), it is our privilege and special pleasure to invite you to the 30th International Symposium on the Chemistry of Natural Products and the 10th International Congress on Biodiversity (ISCNP30 and ICOB10), which will be held 25–29 November, 2018, in Athens, Greece

We sincerely believe that the IUPAC symposium in Athens will bring together scientists from all over the world in order to contribute in our better knowledge and understanding of the role of natural products in drug discovery, material science, nutrition and applied chemistry. Through a careful selection of speeches from established scientists, the addition of emerging topics from young group leaders, and the participation of young scientists through several travel fellowships, we aim to shed light into recent advances in natural products.

Nature has developed an enormous diversity during millions of years of evolution. It is estimated that in our planet exist around 30 million insects, 1.5 million algae, 1.5 million fungi, 1 million animals and 400,000 plant species. Green plants represent almost the 15% of the living organisms of our planet. It is historically proven that the green plants were facilitating the mankind significantly and were assisting its survival and progress. Humans, from the beginning of their existence on Earth, have been using plants extensively for several purposes, such as food, clothes, weapons, tools, poisons, medicines, etc. Despite their great importance, only a small proportion, approximately 10% of the classified ones, have been investigated and chemically characterized. All of these species coexist in ecosystems and interact with each other in several ways. All organisms share a similar biochemistry necessary for a living cell. They produce a wide variety of so-called “secondary metabolites” or “small molecules”.

Secondary metabolites are organic compounds characterized by small molecular weight that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development or reproduction of organisms. Unlike primary metabolites (peptides, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates), the absence of secondary metabolites does not result in immediate death, but rather in long-term impairment of an organism's survivability/fecundity or aesthetics, or perhaps in no significant change at all. Secondary metabolites are often restricted to a narrow set of species within a phylogenetic group. The function or importance of these compounds to the organism is usually of an ecological nature, as they are used as defenses against predators, parasites and diseases, for interspecies competition, and to facilitate the reproductive processes (coloring agents, attractive smells, etc.). Since these compounds are usually restricted to a much more limited group of organisms, they have long been of prime importance in taxonomic research.

Plant-derived small molecules are usually candidates for drugs, cosmetics or other technological developments, directly, or as an inspiration for synthetic products. The first scientific area that was motivated and approached natural small molecules systematically was medicine. For a long period, up to 1960s, the structural studies of natural products served as the principle driving force for drug discovery and still constitute a prolific source for novel leads and pharmacophores for medicinal chemistry. More than 50% of all New Chemical Entities (NCEs) introduced into pharmacotherapy over the period 1982–2002 were derived directly or indirectly from natural products. Subsequent to medicine, many other scientific areas, such as cosmetic science, biotechnology, and agriculture, came closer to small molecules in order to explore their capabilities for other targets.

In light of these premises, this Special Issue aims to collect original research articles and reviews on the chemistry of natural products, the evaluation of their pharmacological and biological properties, natural compounds of marine ecosystems, separation and extraction methodologies of natural sources, as well as natural products related to material science. Moreover, contributions in metabolomics (metabolic profiling, fingerprinting), dereplication, phytochemical analysis, as well as on the authenticity, traceability, and safety aspects of plant-based and food products are greatly welcome. Manuscripts related to medicinal chemistry and the synthesis of organic molecules, bioengineering and combinatorial biosynthesis, as well as studies dealing with biodiversity, chemical ecology and nutrition are included in within the scope of this Special Issue

We hope that you may consider the opportunity to contribute to this effort, which will hopefully provide a collection of manuscripts serving as a reference for the scientists in the field and motivate new ones to enter in the area of Natural Products Chemistry research.

Prof. Alexios-Leandros Skaltsounis
Prof. Emmanuel Mikros
Assist. Prof. Maria Halabalaki
Guest Editors

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