Terpenes in the environment and human health future prospects

6 Terpenes in the environment and human health future prospects 

It is unquestionably the case that both the economic importance of plant terpenes and their significance in human health will continue to grow (Sangwan et al. 2001). Recent 

A more successful application of terpenes in crop protection has been found with the development of (4aS,7S,7aK)-nepetalactone 40 from catmint as an insect attractant. As well as luring male aphids, nepetalactone serves as an attractant to numerous aphid predators such as lacewings (Birkett Pickett 2003). Formulations of catmint oil distillate, impregnated into a polymer which releases nepetalactone over a period of months, are now commercially available. This represents the first example of plant cultivation on a large scale for insect pheromone production - less than 35 tonnes of plant material yield over 301 of nepetalactone-rich oil at a production cost of approximately l/g. 

In conclusion the state of knowledge in the field of terpene biosynthesis has advanced enormously in the past 20 years, creating unprecedented opportunities for science to play its part in bringing the health and nutritional benefits of plant terpenes out of the research lab and into the public domain. The pace of this development may even accelerate in the twenty-first century as detailed genomic and metabolomic studies lead to the discovery of valuable new roles for these highly versatile natural products. 

Rohmer, M. and Prestwich, G.D. (1993) Enzymatic cyclization ofsqualene and oxidosqualene to sterols and triterpenes. Chem. Rev., 93,2189-2206. 

---