Analytical Methods for Medicinal Plants and Economic Botany

A unique, unified and a single source laboratory handbook; providing handy analytical procedures on the gamut of important, diagnostic medicinal and economic plant chemicals. More than 300 experiments on about 70 groups of phytochemicals in about 100 important plants are explained in an understandable way. A brief review on the chemistry, various types of extraction, solvents used and important analytical instruments are specified in the beginning of the book. The experiments range from simple paper and TLC chromatographic procedures to advanced GC and HPLC methods, therefore, the experiments can be easily selected depending on the availability of instruments with oneself.

Contents: 1. Methods of Extraction and Characterization. 2. Carbohydrates. 3. Amino acids and Proteins. 4. Fats and Oils. 5. Terpenoids. 6. Alkaloids. 7. Phenolics. 8. Other nitrogen containing compounds. 9. Sulphur containing compounds. 10. Alkanes, Acetogenins and Polyacetylenes. References. Index.