CARBOHYDRATES 1 43 



link between the sub-families of the Caryophyllaceae is inappropriate 

 on the same objection as noted by Mothes and Romeike (1958) con- 

 cerning the isoquinoline alkaloids (to be discussed in Chapter 9); 

 namely, that it is not proper to relate a group of families on the basis 

 of the presence of a particular character and then, using that same 

 character, establish a hnk between various sub-families. In the case of 

 pinitol, no strong position was taken by Plouvier. 



It is interesting to compare the systematic distribution of 

 pinitol with the systematic distribution of the betacyanins discussed 

 in Chapter 14. It may be noted that Hutchinson placed the Nyctagi- 

 naceae in the order Thymeleales which he derived from the Flacourti- 

 aceae of the Lignosae, while deriving the Chenopodiales from the 

 Herbaceae. The Nyctaginaceae, however, include a number of pro- 

 ducers of betacyanins which Reznik (1957) considers to represent a 

 diagnostic character significant at the ordinal level (Chapter 14). It is, 

 therefore, particularly interesting to note that all of the species of 

 Nyctaginaceae investigated by Plouvier contained pinitol. Curiously, 

 alone among the famihes of the Centrospermae, the Caryophyllaceae 

 apparently lack betacyanins yet it is this family in which pinitol is 

 most typical. The writers do not consider that the situation described 

 undermines in any way the validity of these biochemical data as 

 phylogenetic criteria because the distributions of pinitol and unusual 

 anthocyanin-like pigments in the Centrospermae, while exhibiting dif- 

 ferent patterns, at no point are in conflict, and they complement each 

 other with respect to the placement of the somewhat disputed family, 

 Nyctaginaceae. 



Acid derivatives of inositol (not in a biosynthetic sequence 

 relationship) include quinic and shikimic acids. Quinic acid is of quite 

 general distribution. Shikimic acid until recently was thought to be 

 exceedingly rare (for example, Bonner, 1950, stated that at that time 

 it was reported only from species of Illicium). However, this acid, now 

 shown to be an intermediate in the synthesis of certain amino acids 

 as well as numerous secondary constituents (Chapter 11), is of general 

 occurrence. Hasegawa et al. (1954) detected shikimic acid in a num- 

 ber of species of angiosperms and gymnosperms. 



Oligosaccharides 



Tables 8-1 and 8-2 (Shafizadeh and Wolfrom, 1958) list the 

 typical disaccharides, the common oligosaccharides, and some of their 

 sources. Most disaccharides occur as glycosides and these often appear 



