J. B. Harborne - Böcker

Plant Biochemistry provides students and researchers in plant sciences with a concise general account of plant biochemistry. The edited format allows recognized experts in plant biochemistry to contribute chapters on their special topics. Up-to-date surveys are divided into four sections: the cell, primary metabolism, special metabolism, and the plant and the environment. There is a strong emphasis on plant metabolism as well as enzymological, methodological, molecular, biological, functional, and regulatory aspects of plant biochemistry. Illustrations of metabolic pathways are used extensively, and further reading lists are also included.

The coverage of the subject is divided into four sections

The plant cell-describing both molecular components and function Primary metabolism-including the pathways of carbohydrate, lipid, nitrogen, nucleic acid and protein metabolism as well as gene regulation Special metabolism-chapters on phenolics, isoprenoids and secondary nitrogen compounds The plant and the environment-discussions of pathology, ecology and biotechnology at the molecular level

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.

Ecological biochemistry concerns the biochemistry of interactions between animals, plants and the environment, and includes such diverse subjects as plant adaptations to soil pollutants and the effects of plant toxins on herbivores. The intriguing dependence of the Monarch butterfly on its host plants is chosen as an example of plant-animal coevolution in action.

The ability to isolate trace amounts of a substance from plant tissues has led to a wealth of new research, and the fourth edition of this well-known text has consequently been extensively revised. New sections have been provided on the cost of chemical defence and on the release of predator-attracting volatiles from plants. New information has been included on cyanogenesis, the protective role of tannins in plants and the phenomenon of induced defence in plant leaves following herbivory.

Advanced level students and research workers aloke will find much of value in this comprehensive text, written by an acknowledged expert on this fascinating subject.

The book covers the biochemistry of interactions between animals, plants and the environment, and includes such diverse subjects as plant adaptations to soil pollutants and the effects of plant toxins on herbivores The intriguing dependence of the Monarch butterfly on its host plants is chosen as an example of plant-animal coevolution in action New sections have been added on the cost of chemical defence and on the release of predators attracting volatiles from plants New information has been included on cyanogenesis, the protective role of tannins in plants and the phenomenon of induced defence in plant leaves following herbivory

Ecological biochemistry concerns the biochemistry of interactions between animals, plants and the environment, and includes such diverse subjects as plant adaptations to soil pollutants and the effects of plant toxins on herbivores. The intriguing dependence of the Monarch butterfly on its host plants is chosen as an example of plant-animal coevolution in action.The ability to isolate trace amounts of a substance from plant tissues has led to a wealth of new research, and the fourth edition of this well-known text has consequently been extensively revised. New sections have been provided on the cost of chemical defence and on the release of predator-attracting volatiles from plants. New information has been included on cyanogenesis, the protective role of tannins in plants and the phenomenon of induced defence in plant leaves following herbivory.Advanced level students and research workers aloke will find much of value in this comprehensive text, written by an acknowledged expert on this fascinating subject.

The ftavonoid pigments, one of the most numerous and widespread groups of natural constituents, are ofimportance and interest to a wide variety ofphysical and biological scientists and work on their chemistry, occurrence, natural distribution and biological function continues unabated. In 1975, a mono graph covering their chemistry and biochemistry was published by Chapman and Hall under our editors hip entitled The Flavonoids. The considerable success of this publication indicated that it filled an important place in the scientific literature with its comprehensive coverage of these fascinating and versatile plant substances. The present volume is intended to update that earlier work and provide a detailed review of progress in the ftavonoid field during the years 1975 to 1980. Although cross references are made to The Flavonoids, this supplement is entirely self-contained and where necessary, tabular da ta from the earlier volume are incJuded and expanded here. The choice oftopics in Recent Advances has been dictated by the developments that have occurred in ftavonoid research since 1975, so that not all subjects covered in The Flavonoids are reviewed again here.A major advance in ftavonoid separation has been the app1ication ofhigh performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and this is reviewed inter alia in the opening chapter on separation techniques. An equally important development in the spectral analysis of ftavonoids has been the measurement of carbon-13 NMR spectra and this subject is authoritatively discussed in Chapter 2 and is also illustrated with the spectra of 125 representative ftavonoids.

The major purpose ofthis third volume in The Flavonoidsseries is to provide a detailed review of progress in the field during the five years, 1981-1985 inclusive. It thus continues the comprehensive coverage of the literature on these fascinating and important plant pigments which began in 1975 with the publication of The Flavonoids and which was followed in 1982 with The Flavonoids: Advances in Research. As with the two previous vo1umes, this one is entire1y se1f-contained and where necessary tabu1ar data and references from earlier vo1umes are included and expanded here. A unique feature is the complete listing in the Appendix ofall known flavonoids, which now number over 4000 structures; in this list, structures newly reported during the period 1981-1985 are so indicated. The first ten chaptersofthis book provide a critical review ofthe new substancesthat have been discovered among each of the main classes of flavonoid during the period under review. Again, the numberofnew isoflavonoids reported outweighs that ofother classesand ahundred pagesare needed to describe all the nove1 findings.Neoflavonoids, which were omitted in the first supplement, have been included again and a special chapter on miscellaneous flavonoids has been introduced to cope with those structures (e.g. homoisoflavonoids) which do not fit in easily anywhere else. Although there have been advances in flavonoid methodology, these have not been asspectacular as in earlier years. Hence, literature reports on new chromatographic and spectral procedures are included here in the individual chapters under the different flavonoid classes.