- Email: [email protected]
Phytochemistry and agriculture
1340
Book Reviews
and Agriculture: edited by T. A. VAN BEEK and H. BRETFLER,Proceedings of the PSE No. 34, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993. 390~~. f60.00. ISBN O-19-857762-1. Phytuchemistry
One of the more encouraging trends, as phytochemistry continues to grow and develop as a scientific discipline, is the wider and wider applications that are occurring in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. So many new technological advances are being made at present at the interface between phytochemistry and agriculture, that it was appropriate for the Phytochemical Society of Europe to hold a symposium on this topic at the University of Wageningen, Netherlands in April 1992. Having myself attended what was a very successful meeting, 1 have been awaiting somewhat impatiently for this review volume to come out. Although it has taken nearly two years, I must admit it has been worth waiting for. It contains a fascinating collection of general review articles which can be read with pleasure by anyone interested in the use Man makes of plant products. One major theme at the meeting was the use of natural insecticides in crop protection and there are chapters on insect- host plant interactions (L. M. Schoonhoven; P. W. Price), the insecticidal properties of azadirachtin (W. Kraus and co-workers), the synthesis of insecticides from natural compound leads (B. P. S. Khambay and N. O’Connor), natural antifeedants (M. Wink) and semiochemicals (J. Pickett). Of these contributions, I found the review of Peter Price on tritrophic interactions most instructive, with its diagrams indicating the complexity of plant-insect-parasitoid interactions in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
A second major theme of the conference was the adverse effects of phytochemicals in food and feed. Hence, there are chapters here on cyanogenesis in food plants (A. Nahrstedt), digestibility inhibiting saponins from alfalfa (G. Massiot and C. Lavaud), tannins (E. Haslam) and toxic constituents of range plants (R. J. Molyneux). This latter chapter provides new information on cattle poisoning by polyhydroxyalkaloids, e.g. swainsonine of Astragalus lentiginosus, the spotted loco weed which grows in Holbrook, Arizona. The third main theme of the meeting was the production of phytochemicals by field crops and by tissue culture. The contributions in this section range from the therapeutic use of Ginkgo hiloba leaf extracts (J. O’Reilly), the production of aromatic compounds in cell culture (B. V. Charlwood), the breeding of new storage fat crop plants (S. Styne) to the generation of ornamental plants with novel flower colours (J. N. M. Mol) and the production of foreign proteins in transgenic plants (E. Krebbers and co-workers). There is also a chapter on how to start a commercial natural product company in a developing country. This is by A. Sheak who comes from Nepal. A final chapter, written by A. Bruggink, compares the industrial production of fine chemicals, e.g. vanillin, from both natural and synthetic origins. The whole book is nicely illustrated and well-edited and is reasonably priced at f60.00.
School of Plant Sciences, Uniwrsity of Reading, U.K.
JEFFREYB. HARBORNE
Book Reviews
and Agriculture: edited by T. A. VAN BEEK and H. BRETFLER,Proceedings of the PSE No. 34, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1993. 390~~. f60.00. ISBN O-19-857762-1. Phytuchemistry
One of the more encouraging trends, as phytochemistry continues to grow and develop as a scientific discipline, is the wider and wider applications that are occurring in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. So many new technological advances are being made at present at the interface between phytochemistry and agriculture, that it was appropriate for the Phytochemical Society of Europe to hold a symposium on this topic at the University of Wageningen, Netherlands in April 1992. Having myself attended what was a very successful meeting, 1 have been awaiting somewhat impatiently for this review volume to come out. Although it has taken nearly two years, I must admit it has been worth waiting for. It contains a fascinating collection of general review articles which can be read with pleasure by anyone interested in the use Man makes of plant products. One major theme at the meeting was the use of natural insecticides in crop protection and there are chapters on insect- host plant interactions (L. M. Schoonhoven; P. W. Price), the insecticidal properties of azadirachtin (W. Kraus and co-workers), the synthesis of insecticides from natural compound leads (B. P. S. Khambay and N. O’Connor), natural antifeedants (M. Wink) and semiochemicals (J. Pickett). Of these contributions, I found the review of Peter Price on tritrophic interactions most instructive, with its diagrams indicating the complexity of plant-insect-parasitoid interactions in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
A second major theme of the conference was the adverse effects of phytochemicals in food and feed. Hence, there are chapters here on cyanogenesis in food plants (A. Nahrstedt), digestibility inhibiting saponins from alfalfa (G. Massiot and C. Lavaud), tannins (E. Haslam) and toxic constituents of range plants (R. J. Molyneux). This latter chapter provides new information on cattle poisoning by polyhydroxyalkaloids, e.g. swainsonine of Astragalus lentiginosus, the spotted loco weed which grows in Holbrook, Arizona. The third main theme of the meeting was the production of phytochemicals by field crops and by tissue culture. The contributions in this section range from the therapeutic use of Ginkgo hiloba leaf extracts (J. O’Reilly), the production of aromatic compounds in cell culture (B. V. Charlwood), the breeding of new storage fat crop plants (S. Styne) to the generation of ornamental plants with novel flower colours (J. N. M. Mol) and the production of foreign proteins in transgenic plants (E. Krebbers and co-workers). There is also a chapter on how to start a commercial natural product company in a developing country. This is by A. Sheak who comes from Nepal. A final chapter, written by A. Bruggink, compares the industrial production of fine chemicals, e.g. vanillin, from both natural and synthetic origins. The whole book is nicely illustrated and well-edited and is reasonably priced at f60.00.
School of Plant Sciences, Uniwrsity of Reading, U.K.
JEFFREYB. HARBORNE