Book Review pubs.acs.org/jnp
Review of Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Allelochemicals/Natural Products metabolite ratios; (6) expanded assays that include endophyte and mycorrhizal systems; and (7) microbial growth response to secondary metabolites beyond the limitations of Petri dish techniques to include suspension culture methods. In summary, this informative allelopathic methods monograph covers many of the techniques that can be useful to students and professionals investigating the complex interactions of secondary metabolites and biological organisms. I highly recommend this book as an addition to any personal collection and to university libraries.
Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Allelochemicals/Natural Products, 1st Edition. Edited by Diego A Sampietro (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán), Cesar A. N. Catalan (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán), and Marta A. Vattuone (Universidad Nacional de Tucumán). CRC Press/ Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL, USA. 2009. 555 pp. 25 × 15 cm. $154.95. ISBN-13:978-1578085774.
T
he subject of allelopathy examines the biological influence of secondary metabolites produced by plants, microorganisms, and fungi on the growth and development of agricultural systems and whole ecosystems. Increasingly the knowledge from the field is being applied to sustainable agriculture. No standard textbook exists that provides access to research methodology in the field for both scientists and students. The classes of compound studied is broad, among them cinnamic acid derivatives, coumarins, phenols, flavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, terpenes, steroids, unsaturated lactones, longchain fatty acids, naphthaquinones, and anthroquinones. These techniques would be of interest to researchers in the agricultural arena as well as natural product scientists involved in the biological function of secondary metabolites and their utility to humans. Each chapter is accompanied by detailed explanations, a wide range of useful methodologies, applications, appropriate statistical analysis, and suggested readings. The coverage of each section is comprehensive and, in general, accessible by both undergraduate and graduate student audiences. Of particular note, the limits and quirks of the methods are also shared. The book is organized into three sections: (1) Sample Collection, Handling, and Storage, covering soil, air, water, and plant samples; (2) Isolation, Identification and Structural Elucidation, covering colorimetric, TLC, PC, HPLC, LC-MS, spectroscopic (UV, visible, and infrared spectra), GC/GC-MS, and NMR techniques; (3) Biological Activity of Natural Products, including bioassays using whole plants, insects, plant organs, plant cells, plant organelles, antioxidant, genotoxic mutagenic, cytotoxic, antifungal, and antimicrobial methods. Most are useful for upper level undergraduate lab courses, as well as graduate and postdoctoral students in research laboratories. The only chapter that stood out as less accessible for undergraduate students was the one on NMR methods. Aspects that might be covered in a second edition include methodologies to investigate (1) seasonal variation in the allelochemicals within the context of ecological matrix of simultaneous plant and microbial influences; (2) how to optimize the methods described in the book when developing new methods; (3) how to link the exudation pattern of root zones and the types of secondary metabolites found in those regions, particularly root border cells; (4) unique germination patterns, such as two-phase germination, where root tissue appears in the first year and aerial growth in the second; (5) challenge systems that map the change in plant secondary © 2017 American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy
M. Tims
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Maryland University of Integrative Health, Laurel, Maryland, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
The author declares no competing financial interest.
Published: February 17, 2017 1230
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.7b00109 J. Nat. Prod. 2017, 80, 1230−1230
