Analytical method for metabolites involved in biosynthesis of plant volatile compounds

Abstract

Plants synthesize and emit a large variety of volatile organic compounds, which possess extremely important ecological functions. Rapid progress in the method and instruments available to separate and identify plant metabolites has led to intensive investigations of the biosynthetic pathways that form plant volatiles, which has resulted in insightful and useful discoveries. In this review, we summarize and present the successful techniques currently used for studying metabolites involved in the formation of the major classes of plant volatile compounds, including volatile fatty acid derivatives, volatile isoprenoids, volatile phenylpropanoids/benzenoids, carotenoid-derived aroma compounds, and glycosidically bound volatile compounds. We discuss the extraction, identification, and quantitative analysis of many of these metabolites, which are unstable and occur in plants at trace levels.