Chapter 1 

 INTRODUCTION 



This chapter is intended to provide an orientation in the field of plant chemistry, 

 the general nature of compounds encountered, methods of dealing with them, and the ways 

 that they are biochemically interrelated. With one or two exceptions the other chapters 

 are all organized into the following sections: 



1. A general view of the compounds included, their chemical and physical prop- 

 erties, occurrence and function in plants. 



2. Methods used for isolating the compounds from plant material. 



3. Qualitative analytical methods useful for characterizing the compounds. 



4. A brief synopsis of present knowledge regarding the biochemical pathways by 

 which the compounds are synthesized and broken down. 



5. Pertinent literature. Rather than an exhaustive review a few key articles have 

 usually been selected. These will lead to others. 



In the present, introductory chapter, the topics listed above will be discussed in more 

 general terms with indications as to what may be expected in the specific chapters. 



LITERATURE 



The literature on plant chemistry extends across several special fields, each with 

 a slightly different point of view. Four chief points of view may be summarized as follows: 



BOTANICAL - the functions of the compounds in plants 



BIOCHEMICAL - the chemical reactions (usually enzymatic) which the compounds 



undergo in plants 

 CHEMICAL - the chemical properties and non-enzymatic reactions of the compounds 

 PHARMACEUTICAL - plant constituents useful in medicine, their isolation and 



identification 



In each of these areas a variety of general textbooks are available. These will be familiar 

 to the reader or easily discovered. A few works stand out as indispensable references 

 regardless of the special field of interest. The general textbook Organic Chemistry by 

 Paul Karrer is outstanding for its emphasis on the chemistry of plant products. The 

 multi-volume encyclopedias edited by Paech and Tracey and Ruhland (listed below under 

 "Botany") provide exhaustive and basic information. In each of the following chapters 

 appropriate references to them are indicated simply as "Paech and Tracey" or "Ruhland." 

 After these books, any literature review in this area should probably proceed to Chemical 

 Abstracts - in particular the sections on "Organic Chemistry," "Botany," and "Pharma- 

 ceutical Chemistry. " 



It is sometimes desirable to know what plants contain a certain compound or what 

 compounds are present in a certain plant. To some extent, Paech and Tracey offers this 

 kind of information, especially for some classes of compounds; but three other references 

 are specifically intended for this purpose, viz. , : 



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