Brassinosteroids and Related Compounds
Since the discovery of the bioactive steroid
brassinolide, in 1979, more than 60 similar compounds, the brassinosteroids,
were isolated or detected from plant sources. They influence plant
physiological processes, from pollination and seed germination to plant growth
and development, and many of them present significant plant growth promoting
activity. The application of some of the natural brassinosteroids or their
synthetic analogues increase crop yield or alleviate the effect of abiotic
stresses, making this class of compounds environmentally friendly complements
to crop production. Brassinosteroids and Related Compounds present the natural
brassinosteroids, their biosynthetic precursors, their metabolites and their
natural analogues, examples of the main classes of brassinosteroids analogues,
and how brassinosteroids are biosynthesized and metabolized, as well as lists
the more than one hundred plant species or plant derived materials from which
they were isolated, quantified or detected. (From the back cover of Brassinosteroids
and Related Compounds, Lambert Academic Publishing, 2018).