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Planta Med 2009; 75(7): 672-682
DOI: 10.1055/s-0029-1185379
Plant Analysis
Review
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Natural Product Analysis over the Last Decades

Andrew Marston1 , Kurt Hostettmann1
  • 1Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Further Information

Publication History

received Oct. 21, 2008 revised January 2, 2009

accepted January 13, 2009

Publication Date:
04 March 2009 (online)

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Abstract

Progress in natural product chemistry has always been strongly linked to innovations in analytical technology. The characterisation of metabolites in complex mixtures requires sophisticated techniques, which should provide good sensitivity and selectivity as well as structural information on the constituents of interest. This review outlines the most important chromatographic and spectral techniques which have been introduced in the field of natural products. Although there has been a very rapid evolution of methods over the last 50 years, the introduction of high-throughput screening programmes require even more efficient and sensitive methodologies which yield adequate on-line information for metabolite structure determination.

Key words

analysis - separation - chromatography - spectroscopy - hyphenated techniques

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Prof. Kurt Hostettmann

Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
University of Geneva

Quai Ernest-Ansermet 30

1211 Geneva 4

Switzerland

Phone: + 41 2 23 79 34 01

Fax: + 41 2 23 79 33 99

Email: kurt.hostettmann@unige.ch

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