Soprenoids are present in all living organisms, but with a remarkable diversity in plants. More than 40,000 different plant isoprenoids are known and new compounds are being constantly identified. These isoprenoids have many different functions. In primary metabolism, they function as membrane constituents, photosynthetic pigments, electron transport carriers, growth substances, and plant hormones. They act as glucosyl carriers in glucosylation reactions and are involved in the regulation of cell growth.

                Plant isoprenoids are also commercially important as aroma substances for food, beverages, and cosmetics, as vitamins, natural insecticides, solvents, and as rubber and gutta-percha. The plant isoprenoids also comprise important natural compounds, which are utilized as pharmaceuticals or their precursors. Investigations are in progress to increase the ability of plants to synthesize isoprenoids by genetic engineering. Plant ethereal oils have long been of interest to chemists. A number of mainly cyclic compounds containing 10, 15, 20, or correspondingly more C atoms have been isolated from turpentine oil. Such substances have been found in many plants and were given the collective name terpenes. Limonene, an aromatic substance from lemon oil, is a terpene with 10 C atoms and is called a monoterpene. Carotene, with 40 C atoms, is accordingly a tetraterpene. Rubber is a polyterpene with about 1,500 C atoms. It is obtained from the latex of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis.

Regards

Joseph Mareddy

Assistant Managing Editor

Journal of Plant Biochemistry and physiology