This volume contains reviews which are based on a symposium, given th at the 30 meeting of The Phytochemical Society of North America, held at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada on August 11-15, 1990. During the past two decades, there have been major new developments in methods which can be applied toward the isolation, separation and structure determination of complex natural products. Therefore, the topic of this symposium, "Modem Phytochemical Methods", is a very timely one. The organizers of the symposium recognized that it would not be possible to cover in detail all new advances in phytochemical methodology. It was therefore decided to emphasize general reviews on recent developments of major separation techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography as well as supercritical fluid chromato graphy. In addition, advances in commonly used structure determination methods, mainly NMR and MS, are reviewed. Other topics include methodo logies of micro-sampling for isolation and analysis of trichome constituents as well as recent breakthroughs on biosynthetic studies of monoterpenes using "enriched" basal cells of trichomes. The volume concludes with a review of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies of biologically active natural products. In Chapter I, K. Hostettmann and his colleagues give a general review of recent developments in the separation of natural products with major emphasis on preparative separations of biologically active plant constituents. The authors present a comparison of droplet countercurrent chromatography (OCCC) with the highly rapid and more versatile centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC).

This long awaited third edition of Phytochemical Methods is, as its predecessors, a key tool for undergraduates, research workers in plant biochemistry, plant taxonomists and any researchers in related areas where the analysis of organic plant components is key to their investigations. Phytochemistry is a rapidly expanding area with new techniques being developed and existing ones perfected and made easier to incorporate as standard methods in the laboratory. This latest edition includes descriptions of the most up-to-date methods such as HPLC and the increasingly sophisticated NMR and related spectral techniques. Other methods described are the use of NMR to locate substances within the plant cell and the chiral separation of essential oils. After an introductory chapter on methods of plant analysis, individual chapters describe methods of identifying the different type of plant molecules: phenolic compounds, terpenoids, organic acids, lipids and related compounds, nitrogen compounds, sugar and derivatives and macromolecules. Different methods are discussed and recommended, and guidance provided for the analysis of compounds of special physiological relevance such as endogenous growth regulators, substances of pharmacological interest and screening methods for the detection of substances for taxonomic purposes. It also includes an important bibliographic guide to specialized texts. This comprehensive book constitutes a unique and indispensable practical guide for any phytochemistry or related laboratory, and provides hands-on description of experimental techniques so that students and researchers can become familiar with these invaluable methods.

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.

This volume contains reviews which are based on a symposium, given th at the 30 meeting of The Phytochemical Society of North America, held at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada on August 11-15, 1990. During the past two decades, there have been major new developments in methods which can be applied toward the isolation, separation and structure determination of complex natural products. Therefore, the topic of this symposium, "Modem Phytochemical Methods", is a very timely one. The organizers of the symposium recognized that it would not be possible to cover in detail all new advances in phytochemical methodology. It was therefore decided to emphasize general reviews on recent developments of major separation techniques such as high performance liquid chromatography as well as supercritical fluid chromato graphy. In addition, advances in commonly used structure determination methods, mainly NMR and MS, are reviewed. Other topics include methodo logies of micro-sampling for isolation and analysis of trichome constituents as well as recent breakthroughs on biosynthetic studies of monoterpenes using "enriched" basal cells of trichomes. The volume concludes with a review of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies of biologically active natural products. In Chapter I, K. Hostettmann and his colleagues give a general review of recent developments in the separation of natural products with major emphasis on preparative separations of biologically active plant constituents. The authors present a comparison of droplet countercurrent chromatography (OCCC) with the highly rapid and more versatile centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC).