A Half-Century of the Phytochemical Society of North America: 1961-2011 -- Nitrogen-containing Constituents of Black Cohosh: Chemistry, Structure Elucidation and Biological Activities -- Jatropha Natural Products as Potential Therapeutic Leads -- O-Methyltransferases Involved in Lignan Biosynthesis -- Hormone Signaling: Current Perspectives on the Roles of Salicylic Acid and its Derivatives in Plants -- Regulators and Pathway Enzymes that Contribute to Chemical Diversity in Phenylpropanoid and Aromatic Alkaloid Metabolism in Plant Immunity -- Metabolism of Glucosinolates and their Hydrolysis Products in Insect Herbivores -- Screening of Fungal Endophytes Isolated from Eastern White Pine Needles.

This text provides both review and primary research articles for a broad audience of biologists, chemists, biochemists, pharmacologists, clinicians and nutrition experts, especially those interested in the biosynthesis, structure, function and/or bioactivity of plant natural products. Recurring themes include the evolution and ecology of specialized metabolites, the genetic and enzymatic mechanisms for their formation and metabolism, the systems biology study of their cell/tissue/organ context, the engineering of plant natural products, as well as various aspects of their application for human health. In addition to analysis of current research, new developments in the techniques used to study plant natural products are presented and discussed, taking a detailed look at structure elucidation and quantification, “omic” (genomic/ proteomic/ transcriptomic/ metabolomics) profiling or for microscopic localization. In short, this series combines chapters from researchers that explain and discuss current topics in the most exciting new research in phytochemistry.