536 BOOK REVIEWS

Bioactive Carbohydrates-In Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biology. By J. F. KENNEDY AND C. A. WHITE, Halsted Press, New York, 1983, 331 pp. $79.95.

The authors of this book wanted “to provide, under one cover, a full description of the chemistry, biochemistry and biology of all groups of carbohydrates.” However, the title chosen for the book was “Bioactive Carbohy- drates,” implying that some process of selection was applied in organizing the materials presented in the book. The fact is that the book indeed covers practically all classes of carbohydrates, and the definition of the term “bioactive” appears to be very liberal. This is excusable, perhaps, if the book title is used for the purpose of catching the eyes of potential readers and buyers. Certainly “Bioactive Car- bohydrates” will command more attention from casual examiners than something like “Basic Principles of Car- bohydrate Chemistry and Biochemistry.”

The materials themselves are quite well organized and clearly presented. The tiustrations are especially well done. For example, Fig. 5.5, depicting the biosynthetic pathway of a proteoglycan (a three-page-long, fold-in chart), is very thoughtful and will be greatly appreciated by students who are inexperienced in this type of complex scheme.

The book places heavy emphasis on chemistry and is rather light on biochemistry, and even lighter on biology. For example, glycolipids are covered in less than 20 pages, and nucleic acids, also in about 20 pages. Since some chemistry should be the basis of biochemistry, and biology should be firmly footed in biochemistry, the approach

Peptides 1982~Proceedii of the 17th European Peptide Symposium. Edited by K. BLAHA AND P. MALO& de Gruyter, Berlin, 1983. 846 pp. $134.00.

At a time when genetic engineering methods are con- sidered with increasing interest for “biologically synthe- sizing” native and sequence-modified peptides and pro- teins, the place of peptide chemistry and particularly chemical synthesis of peptidcs in contemporary research has been the subject of some scrutiny. Being put “under the microscope” can be unsettling. Yet, pcptide chemistry remains intensely active, the methodology is elegant and continuously developing, and the applicability cuts across many areas of biology and chemistry. So it is with optimism that the volume, Peptides 1982, the proceedings of the 17th European Peptide Symposium (Prague, Czechoslo- vakia, August 29-September 3, 1982) can be offered as a benchmark of both the achievements and potential of peptide chemistry. The contributions to tbe 17th EPS proceedings are divided broadly into three topics: synthesis of peptides, structure-activity relationships, and confor- mational studies. Peptide synthesis, the central theme throughout the volume, covers areas of new methods de- velopment such as protection, coupling, purification and characterization, semisynthesis, protease- and peptidase- assisted syntheses, and synthesis with polymeric supports.

taken by the authors is a desirable one. One wonders, however, in view of the current exciting developments in the areas of genetics and bioengineering, if the superficial treatment of nucleic acids is necessary for the stated pur- pose of the book. If the space used for nucleic acids had been used for expounding other more genuinely “car- bohydrate topics,” it may have been more useful in ele- vating the “secondary status” of the study of carbohydrates. After all, a biotechnologist who has become interested in glycoproteins, for instance, hardly requires information on nucleic acids.

For the general readers of Analytical Biochemistry, the book may be slighting more recent analytical techniques for carbohydrates. Mass spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy together are covered in less than a page and a half. These topics should be detailed with more vigor, perhaps with a few illustrative diagrams or actual spectra. These are the areas of most promising de- velopment in the analysis of carbohydrate structures. It is the lack of dependable and precise structural analytical techniques, requiring only a few milligrams, that has been tbe major stumbling block in carbohydrate research (espe- cially in the studies of complex carbohydrates of biological interest) and not the “lack of suitable texts” as the authors state in the preface.

These shortcomings notwithstanding, this is a good in- troductory text for students as well as for those who seek reorientation in the field of carbohydrates.

Y. C. LEE

In addition, current applications of synthesis are described for a variety of biologically active peptides, peptides con- taining genetically noncoded amino acids, labeled peptides, and heterodetic bonds. Peptides for which structure-ac- tivity studies (including prominently synthesis of analogs) are reported include neurohypophyseal hormones, opioid peptides, substance P, protease inhibitors, and immu- nology-related peptides. And the reports on conformational studies include not only discussions for native peptides but also those for synthetic peptide analogs and model peptides.

The sense one develops in reading this compendium of current research is that peptide chemistry continues to play a vital role in learning how peptides and proteins work. So far, the advent of new methods such as “biological synthesis” using proteases and genetic engineering has been largely stimulatory and complementary rather than competitive. That a view of the continuing vitality of peptide chemistry should emanate from the Symposium in Prague is perhaps fitting, since, as the editors point out in the Preface, peptide synthesis bas been a long-standing activity in Prague, starting in the early 1950s when the field itself was young. As active as the peptide chemistry field has been, its contributions continue to grow.

IRWIN M. CHAIKJZN