Cited by 798Plant biochemistry and biosynthesisPlant Gene Expression AnalysisMicrobial Natural Products and Biosynthesis

From waste products to ecochemicals: Fifty years research of plant secondary metabolism

Hartmann, Thomas·2007·Phytochemistry

Abstract

The isolation of morphine ('principium somniferum') by Friedrich Wilhelm Sertürner about 200 years ago is generally accepted as the beginning of scientific phytochemistry (plant secondary products research). For about 150 years this research addressed almost exclusively the isolation and structure elucidation of new plant products. It had great impact on the development of modern organic chemistry and pharmaceutical industry and provided the chemical basis for biological research on plant secondary metabolism, which began about 50 years ago. The historical development of this field to its present state of knowledge will be considered in this review from three angles of vision: mechanistic, functional and evolutionary perspectives. Mechanistic research started on the metabolite level and was initiated by the availability of radioactive nuclides in the early 1950s. By means of sophisticated tracer techniques, the biosynthetic routs of most secondary pathways were outlined and provided the basis for the enzymatic characterization of biosynthetic pathways in the 1970s and 1980s, followed by the identification of the corresponding genes beginning in the late 1980s. During this 50-year period of intensive research a change of paradigm occurred addressing the question: why do plants synthesize this immense rich diversity of secondary metabolites comprising more than 200,000 structures? For a long time regarded as waste products or assigned with various other attributes their indispe…

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.phytochem.2007.09.017

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  • Secondary metabolites are often lineage specific and aid plants to interact with the biotic and abiotic environment.

    “Secondary metabolites, including major groups such as phenolics, terpenes, and nitrogen-containing compounds, are often lineage specific and aid plants to interact with the biotic and abiotic environment (Hartmann, 2007).”
  • Definitions of secondary metabolites are inherently diffuse.

    “Despite the fact that definitions of secondary metabolites are inherently diffuse (Hartmann, 2007;Pichersky and Lewinsohn, 2011;Davies, 2013), the distinction between primary metabolites, secondary metabolites, and plant hormones has found its way into textbooks and shapes our thinking in plant biology to this day.”

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Authors
Hartmann, T.
Affiliations
Technische Universität Braunschweig (DE)
Corresponding author
Hartmann, Thomas
Venue
Phytochemistry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2007-11
Volume
68
Issue
22-24
Pages
2831-2846
ISSN
0031-9422 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2073205409
Cited by
798
References
86
Citations by year
2026: 42 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 77 · 2022: 66 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 60 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 37 · 2016: 41 · 2015: 45 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 32 · 2012: 42
FWCI
5.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Phytochemistry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Plant Gene Expression Analysis
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis
Keywords
plant secondary metabolism, morphine, biosynthetic pathway, biosynthetic enzymes, gene identification, chemical ecology, plant survival strategies
MeSH terms
Environmental Monitoring, Plants, Time Factors, Waste Products, Ecosystem

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