The Series "Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products": 75 years of service in the development of natural product chemistry.

Abstract

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the first volume of “Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products” and in addition, the publication of Volume 100, a retrospective examination is taken from its beginnings and through the remarkable development of this book series. The starting point is the biography of the founder and long-term editor of the series, Laszlo Zechmeister (1889–1972). Zechmeister succeeded in getting the creme de la creme of the research elite in the area of natural product chemistry to contribute—of which no less than ten authors were to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Additional Nobel Prizes were awarded to the series editors Haworth and Butenandt. Since 1940, when Zechmeister emigrated from Pecs in Hungary to Pasadena in California, the center of gravity in terms of contributed articles gradually shifted from Europe to North America. From 1970 on, when the book series was no longer “Edited by Zechmeister” but rather “Founded by Zechmeister”, more and more of the published contributions originated further afield, including countries in Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and South America. From the beginning, “Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products” allotted much space to the application of new findings in regard to instrumental organic analytical techniques, such as chromatography, X-ray diffraction, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, IR-, UV-, vis-, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Upon publication of Volume 99 in 2014, 412 contributions were edited within this book series covering the whole spectrum of organic natural products. All these chapters are discussed briefly within this chronological retrospective, which is dedicated to an acknowledgement of their scientific value. Rapid development is evident for each branch of organic natural product chemistry covered—ranging from carotenoids, tobacco alkaloids, chlorinated compounds, coumarins, and flavones, to steroids and many other compound types.