The Explosion of Structural Information on Insect Neuropeptides.- 1. Introduction.- 2. General Methods Used for Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Insect Neuropeptides.- 2.1. Biological Assays.- 2.1.1. Adipokinetic Bioassay.- 2.1.2. Myotropic Bioassay.- 2.2. Liquid Chromatography.- 2.3. Edman Degradation Sequencing, Mass Spectrometry and Peptide Synthesis.- 2.4. Immunological Techniques (RIA, ELISA, Immunocytochemistry).- 2.5. Molecular Biological Techniques.- 3. The Insect Neuropeptides.- 3.1. Peptides Involved in Homeostasis and Metabolism.- 3.1.1. Adipokinetic and Hypertrehalosaemic Peptides.- 3.1.2. Diuretic and Antidiuretic Peptides.- 3.2. Peptides Regulating Reproduction, Growth and Development.- 3.2.1. Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptides.- 3.2.2. Allatotropins and Allatostatins.- 3.2.2.1. Allatotropins.- 3.2.2.2. Allatostatins.- 3.2.3. Prothoracicotropic Hormone, Bombyxin and Other Insulin-Related Neuropeptides.- 3.2.3.1. Prothoracicotropic Hormone.- 3.2.3.2. Bombyxin.- 3.2.3.3. Locusta Insulin-Related Peptide.- 3.2.4. Eclosion Hormones.- 3.2.5. Peptides Affecting Gonad Activity.- 3.2.5.1. Ovary Maturating Peptide and Neuroparsin of Locusta migratoria.- 3.2.5.2. Oostatic Hormones of Diptera.- 3.2.6. Diapause Hormones.- 3.3. Peptides Modifying Spontaneous Muscle Contractions: Mytropic Peptides.- 3.3.1. Proctolin and Cardiostimulatory Peptides.- 3.3.2. Myokinins.- 3.3.3. Sulfakinins.- 3.3.4. Pyrokinins/Myotropins.- 3.3.5. Tachykinins.- 3.3.6. Periviscerokinin.- 3.3.7. Accessory Glands- and Midgut Myotropins and Others.- 3.3.8. Myoinhibitory Peptides and Other FMRF amide Related Peptides (FaRPs).- 3.4. Chromatotropic Factors in Insects.- 4. Conclusions.- Acknowledgments.- References.- Sesquiterpenoids from Thapsia Species and Medicinal Chemistry of the Thapsigargins.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Taxonomy of Thapsia.- 2.1. Thapsia garganica and Thapsia transtagana.- 2.2. Thapsia maxima.- 2.3. Thapsia villosa.- 2.4. Thapsia gymnesica.- 3. Elucidation of the Structure of Thapsigargin.- 4. Proazulenic Slovanolides.- 5. Non-lactonic Sesquiterpenoids from Thapsia.- 6. Pharmacological Activity of the Thapsigargins.- 7. Molecular Pharmacology.- 8. Chemistry of Thapsigargin.- 8.1. Changes at C(8).- 8.2. Changes at C(3).- 8.3. Changes of the Vicinal Diol.- 8.4. Changes of Lactone Carbonyl Group.- 8.5. Changes at O(10).- 9. Structure Activity Relationships.- 10. Metabolic Catabolism of Thapsigargin.- References.- Pregnane Glycosides.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Isolation and Identification.- 2.1. Thin Layer and Column Chromatography.- 2.2. Sephadex LH-20 Chromatography.- 2.3. Flash Chromatography.- 2.4. Low Pressure Liquid Chromatography (LPLC).- 2.5. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).- 3. Structure Elucidation.- 3.1. One-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy.- 3.2. Two-Dimensional NMR Spectroscopy.- 3.3. Mass Spectrometry.- 3.4. I.R. Spectroscopy.- 3.5. U.V. Spectroscopy.- 3.6. Optical Rotatory Dispersion.- 3.7. Hydrolysis of Pregnane Glycosides.- 4. Pregnane Aglycons.- 5. Sugars of Pregnane Glycosides.- 5.1. General and Monosaccharides.- 5.2. Disaccharides from Pregnane Glycosides.- 5.3. Trisaccharides from Pregnane Glycosides.- 6. Biosynthesis of Pregnane Glycosides.- 7. Biological Activity.- Acknowledgement.- References.- Author Index.