Five Key Terpenoids

Geraniol/Nerol, linalool, citronellol, citronellal and citral are five of the most important terpenoids as far as the perfume industry is concerned. Apart from citral, they are all used as such in perfumes. The alcohols and their esters are particularly important. All of them are key starting materials for other terpenoids, and will be discussed later. Figure 4.1... 

The terpenoid indole alkaloids are a group of plant bases derived by multiple variation on the strictosidine [(79) p. 20] skeleton. Arguably the most important work in the past five years has been done on these alkaloids with enzyme preparations from plant tissue cultures, and the research is of great potential significance for other studies in alkaloid biosynthesis. The results have allowed close definition of the early stages of biosynthesis (this Report, p. 19). Use of crude enzyme preparations in this way has been extended to the study of benzylisoquinoline biosynthesis, with enzyme-catalysed formation of norlaudanosoline-1-carboxylic acid [(57) p. 16] this compound had earlier been identified as the first of the benzylisoquinolines (this Report, p. 15). It seems that amino-acids of this general formula (6) are key intermediates in the biosynthesis of all isoquinoline alkaloids. Lophocereine (7) is exceptional in that two routes (from leucine and mevalonate) may lead to it, only one of which potentially involves an acid like (6). ... 

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