Medicinal Chemistry, 2nd Edition

Chapter 32

Prostaglandins

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define prostaglandins and their important functions

• Describe the biosynthetic pathway of various prostaglandins

• Describe the naming pattern used for prostaglandins

• Describe various synthetic methods available for prostaglandins

• List out the therapeutically useful prostaglandins

• Derive the relationship between structure and activity of prostaglandins

32.1 INTRODUCTION

Prostaglandins    were first discovered and isolated from human semen in the 1930s by Ulf von Euler of Sweden. Thinking they had come from the prostate gland, he named them prostaglandins. It has since been determined that they exist and are synthesised in virtually every cell of the body. Prostaglandins are like hormones in that ...