Presents a modern approach to the isolation of biologically active natural products. Describes general screening methods, HPLC hyphenated techniques, and NMR methods in the structural elucidation of compounds, then devotes individual chapters to specific topics of research. Emphasis is placed on biological properties of compounds cited. The importance of the ethnobotanical approach is exemplified by material on Mexican medicinal plants. Other subjects include anti-tumor drugs of natural origin, metabolites displaying anti-HIV activity, and fungal phytotoxins. Final chapters are devoted to marine metabolites. Tringali teaches organic chemistry at the University of Catania, Italy. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)