Kirjahaku

While there are many books available on methods of organic and biochemical analysis, the majority are either primarily concerned with the application of a particular technique (e.g. paper chromatography) or have been written for an audience of chemists or for biochemists work­ ing mainly with animaltissues. Thus, no simple guide to modern metho ds of plant analysis exists and the purpose of the present volume is to fill this gap. It is primarily intended for students in the plant sciences, who have a botanical or a general biological background. It should also be of value to students in biochemistry, pharmacognosy, food science and 'natural products' organic chemistry. Most books on chromatography, while admirably covering the needs of research workers, tend to overwhelm the student with long lists of solvent systems and spray reagents that can be applied to each class of organic constituent. The intention here is to simplify the situation by listing only a few specially recommended techniques that have wide currency in phytochemical laboratories. Sufficient details are provided to allow the student to use the techniques for themselves and most sections contain some introductory practical experiments which can be used in classwork.

Didaktisch geschickt und anschaulich werden die biochemischen Beziehungen zwischen Pflanzen, Tieren und ihrer Umwelt beschrieben. Das Buch ist auch für Leser mit geringen Biochemiekenntnissen leicht verständlich. Aus dem Inhalt: Pflanzen und biochemische Adaption an Umwelt Biochemie der Pflanzenbestäubung Pflanzentoxine und ihre Wirkung auf Tiere Hormonelle Beziehungen zwischen Pflanzen und Tieren Nahrungspräferenzen Abwehrmechanismen von Pflanzen und Reaktionen der Tiere (Coevolution) Pheromone: Biochemische Kommunikation zwischen Tieren Biochemische Wechselwirkungen zwischen Pflanzen.

The flavonoids, one of the most numerous and widespread groups of natural constituents, are important to man not only because they contribute to plant colour but also because many members (e.g. coumestrol, phloridzin, rotenone) are physiologically active. Nearly two thousand substances have been described and as a group they are universally distributed among vascular plants. Although the anthocyanins have an undisputed function as plant pigments, the raison d'etre for the more widely distributed colourless flavones and flavonols still remains a mystery. It is perhaps the challenge of discovering these yet undisc10sed functions which has caused the considerable resurgence of interest in flavonoids during the last decade. This book attempts to summarize progress that has been made in the study of these constituents since the first comprehensive monograph on the chemistry of the flavonoid compounds was published, under the editorship of T. A. Geissman, in 1962. The present volume is divided into three parts. The first section (Chapters 1-4) deals with advances in chemistry, the main emphasis being on spectral techniques to take into account the re cent successful applications of NMR and mass spectral measurements to structural identifications. Recent developments in isolation techniques and in synthesis are also covered in this section. Advances in chemical knowledge of individual c1asses of flavonoid are mentioned inter aha in later chapters of the book.