Secondary compounds taxonomic distribution

Many simply derived secondary compounds are widespread and have limited usefulness for understanding the relationship of higher taxonomic groups of plants (Hegnauer, 1986). Compounds derived from more complex pathways, however, are often restricted in distribution and can be valuable in this regard. Whereas simply derived compounds (especially those involving common chemical steps from widespread precursors) could have evolved several or even many... 

The widespread distribution of natural products on land Views on the distribution of secondary metabolites are changing. Once thought to be strictly taxon-specific, the same families of secondary metabolites, if not just the same compounds, are more and more frequently encountered in taxonomically, phylogenetically, and ecologically distant organisms (Chapter 3). It is the advancement in analytical technology that allows us to detect compounds that have escaped attention in the past, hidden in the bulk extracts or present in trace amounts. 

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