[Recent advances in the analysis of gibberellins plant hormones]

Gibberellins (GAs) are a class of phytohormones that exert profound and diverse effects on plant growth and development, such as seed germination and leaf expansion. Up to now, 136 members of GAs have been identified and recognized. All known GAs are diterpenoid acids with similar chemical structures, only double bonds, hydroxyl numbers and locations on gibberellin alkane skeleton are different. However, the content of GAs in plants is of ultra trace levels (usually at ng/g and even pg/g levels) with little ultraviolet (UV) absorption, no fluorescence and no distinguishing chemical characteristics. Moreover, the matrix of plant samples is complicated. Thus, quantification of GAs is always extremely difficult. Nowadays, the bottle necks for the study of GAs in plants are due to the lack of efficient sample preparation and sensitive detection techniques. This article reviews the analytical methods for determination of GAs in recent years, hoping to provide some references to develop new methods and techniques.