With contributions by numerous experts

This volume contains 10 chapters. The contributions are from researchers - mousintheirrespective?eldsandthechapterscontainhighqualityreviewson topics related to the chemo-biologicalstudies of several different heterocyclic groups. The ?rst chapter from Saracoglu reviews the functionalization of indoles andthepyrrolesviaMichaeladditions,asthesecompoundshavepotential for their biologicalactivities. InsecondchapterMen' endezreviewsthechemistryofthewelwitindolinones. Topcu and Demirkiran, in the third chapter, describe the chemistry and biological studies of lignans from Taxus species, including their biosynthesis andrecent strategiesforthesynthesisoflignans.Lignansareaveryimportant classofmolecules,astheyhaveaverydiversespectrumofbiologicalactivities, such as antitumour, antiviral, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antiulcer, an- allergen, anti-platelet, and anti-osteoporoticactivities. InnextchapterSuzen .. describestheantioxidantactivitiesofsyntheticindole derivatives and their possible mechanisms of action. Inchapter?veGonz' alezetal.presentsacomprehensivereviewonthech- istry and biology of the quinoxaline 1,4-dioxide and phenazine 5,10-dioxide typemolecules.Theyalsodiscussthemodeofaction,structure-activitystudies andother relevant chemical andbiologicalproperties forsuch molecules. Inthechaptersix,Khanbrie?ydiscussestheanti-angiogenicandtelomerase inhibitory activities of quinoline and its analogues. Liuet al.,inchapterseven, brie?y reviewssomeaspects ofstudies ofbio- tive marine sponge furanosesterterpenoids from the last 10 years, including their totalsyntheses. Pujol et al. in chapter eight, reviews the chemistry, origin and antiviral activities of naturally occurring sulfated polysaccharides for the prevention and controlof viral infections such as HIV-1 and -2, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), dengue virus (DENV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and - ?uenza Avirus. InchapternineHamdietal.describesthesynthesisandbiologicalactivities of the heterocyclicand vanillin ether coumarins. In the last chapter, Orhan et al. reviews their recent ?ndings on antiviral and antimicrobial heterocyclic compounds fromTurkish plants. Tromso,Norway 2007 Mahmud Tareq Hassan Khan Contents FunctionalizationofIndoleandPyrroleCores viaMichael-TypeAdditions N.Saracoglu ...1 ChemistryoftheWelwitindolinones J.C.Menendez ...63 LignansFrom TaxusSpecies G.Topcu*O.Demirkiran...103 AntioxidantActivities ofSyntheticIndoleDerivatives andPossibleActivity Mechanisms S.Suzen...1 45 Quinoxaline 1,4-DioxideandPhenazine5,10-Dioxide.