Abstract
For a long time metabolic stability was thought to be a characteristic of secondary products. Recent experiments, however, have demonstrated that many secondary substances are transformed or are even degraded to compounds of primary metabolism. Three types of secondary compounds may be distinguished with respect to metabolic stability: (a) the truely metabolically inert end products, (b) the products stable at a given physiological or developmental state, and (c) the substances undergoing continuous turnover.
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References for Further Reading
Barz, W., Köster, J.: Turnover and degradation of secondary (natural) products. In: The Biochemistry of Plants, Vol. 7, Secondary Plant Products (E. E. Conn, ed.), pp. 35–84. Academic Press, New York 1981
Robinson, T.: Metabolism and function of alkaloids in plants. Science 184, 430–435 (1974)
Seigler, D. S.: Primary roles for secondary compounds. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 5, 195–199 (1977)
Waller, G. R., Nowacki, E. K.: Alkaloid Biology and Metabolism in Plants. Plenum Press, New York 1978
Zaprometov, M. N.: Metabolism of phenolic compounds in plants (Russ.). Biochimija 42, 3–20 (1977)
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© 1984 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Luckner, M. (1984). Transformation and Degradation of Secondary Products. In: Secondary Metabolism in Microorganisms, Plants and Animals. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02384-6_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-02384-6_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-02386-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-02384-6
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