A pterocarpan from the seeds of Bituminaria morisiana

Marco Leonti1, Laura Casu, Jürg Gertsch

  • 1Dipartimento Farmaco Chimico Tecnologico, University of Cagliari, via Ospedale 72, 09124, Cagliari, Italy.

Related Concept Videos

Seed Structure and Early Development of the Sporophyte02:33

Seed Structure and Early Development of the Sporophyte

Seed structures are composed of a protective seed coat surrounding a plant embryo, and a food store for the developing embryo. The embryo contains the precursor tissues for leaves, stem, and roots. The endosperm and cotyledons—seed leaves—act as the food reserves for the growing embryo.
C4 Pathway and CAM01:27

C4 Pathway and CAM

Most plants use the C3 pathway for carbon fixation. However, some plants, such as sugar cane, corn, and cacti that grow in hot conditions, use alternative pathways to fix carbon and conserve energy loss due to photorespiration. Photorespiration is the process that occurs when the oxygen concentration is high. Under such conditions, the rubisco enzyme in the Calvin cycle binds O2 instead of CO2, which halts photosynthesis and consumes energy.
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
Aromatic Compounds: Overview01:25

Aromatic Compounds: Overview

In general, the term ‘aromatic’ indicates a pleasant smell or fragrance from fresh flowers, freshly prepared coffee, etc. In the early history of organic chemistry, many benzene derivatives were isolated from the pleasant odor oils of the plants. For example, vanillin was isolated from the oil of vanilla, methyl salicylate from the oil of wintergreen, and cinnamaldehyde from the oil of cinnamon. They all had a pleasant odor; hence the name aromatic was given.
In 1825, Faraday isolated benzene...
Non-vascular Seedless Plants02:26

Non-vascular Seedless Plants

The diverse plant life on Earth—consisting of nearly 400,000 species—can be divided into three broad categories based on biological characteristics: nonvascular, seedless vascular, and seed plants.
Seedless Vascular Plants03:24

Seedless Vascular Plants

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth
Introduction to Seed Plants03:40

Introduction to Seed Plants

Most plants are seed plants—characterized by seeds, pollen, and reduced gametophytes. Seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms.