Applications of gas chromatography to the study of terpenoid metabolism.

Studies on the enzymology and mechanism of biosynthesis of the essential oil terpenes are often hampered by the need to resolve and detect trace levels of these metabolites, an analytical requirement for which gas chromatography is ideally suited. Essential principles in the application of gas chromatography to terpenoid metabolism are described, with particular emphasis on experimental strategies employing flame ionization, mass spectrometric and thermal conductivity-radiochemical detection methods. The general approaches described can be readily adapted to studies on the origin of other volatile natural products.