Fingerprinting of secondary metabolites of liverworts: chemosystematic approach

The relationship between various types of plants can be predicted based on the similarity in the chemical substances present in them. Compounds that belong to the category of secondary metabolites are of great value in identifying such relationships. Additionally, results from the chemical investigations, together with the other biological or genetic information, can help to understand real relationships among the taxa. Liverworts are small spore-forming plants with simple morphological organization. On the other hand, many liverwort species demonstrate wide geographical distribution and grow under diverse ecological conditions. Because of this, the identification of these plants is especially challenging. One of the outstanding features of the liverworts is their chemistry. They produce a wide array of secondary metabolites, mainly terpenoids and aromatic compounds. Many of these compounds are characterized by unique structures, and some have not been found in any other plants, fungi, or marine organisms. The potential use of chromatographic fingerprinting of the liverworts, as complementary to morphological and genetic information, to resolve the taxonomic problems at the species, genus, and family levels are discussed.