Abstract
POSSIBLY no better example can be found of astonishingly rapid development of the chemistry of a widely distributed and exceedingly complex group of natural compounds, following upon the introduction of micromethods and specially devised processes, than is afforded by the carotenoids. The first monograph devoted to this topic, "Carotenoids and Related Pigments" (by L. S. Palmer ; New Fork, 1922), contained virtually no detail of structural significance, though this was soon to appear (see, for example, "Carotenoide", by F. Meyer in Meyer-Jacobsen's "Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie", first and second editions, vol. 2, chapter 5 ; 1929). The adoption of micromethods of oxidation and reduction, the recognition of light absorption of the carotenoids as a valuable characteristic, and, above all, the timely revival of chromatographic analysis, without which the development of carotenoid chemistry might well have been delayed for years, resulted in a surprisingly swift revelation of the main outlines of the chemistry of natural polyenes.
Carotinoide
Von Paul Karrer Ernst Jucker. (Lehrbücher and Monographien aus dem Gebiete der exakten Wissenschaften, 17: Chemische Reihe, Band 3.) Pp. 338. (Basel: Verlag Birkhäuser, 1948.) 43 Swiss francs.
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COOK, A. Carotinoide. Nature 163, 619 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/163619a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/163619a0