BOTANY WITH THE BASICS OF HYDROBOTANY (AQUATIC PLANTS OF UKRAINE) - B.Ye. Yakubenko - 2011

IV. PLANT ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY

Secondary Plant Metabolites

Organic Acids

Aliphatic organic acids are divided into two major groups: volatile and non-volatile. They occur in plants either in a free state or as salts or esters. Among the volatile organic acids, well-known Examples include formic acid found in apples and raspberries, acetic acid present in various fruits and juices—especially as products of acetic Fermentation—and butyric acid, which is abundant in various plants as well as in products of Butyric acid fermentation.

Non-volatile acids include those containing hydroxyl or carbonyl groups, namely: glycolic, lactic, pyruvic, glyoxylic, oxalic, malonic, succinic, oxaloacetic, alpha-ketoglutaric, malic, tartaric, fumaric, citric, isocitric, and cis-aconitic acids. Also well-known are organic acids that result from sugar oxidation, such as gluconic, glucuronic, and ascorbic acids.

Organic acids serve as intermediate compounds in The oxidation of CARBOHYDRATES, Lipids, Amino Acids, and other molecules. Furthermore, being primarily products of Carbohydrate METABOLISM, organic acids are utilized in the synthesis of amino acids, Alkaloids, and Other Compounds, thus acting as a metabolic bridge linking carbohydrate, protein, and Lipid Metabolism.

In medicine, acetic and lactic acids are used as antiseptic and anti-fermentative agents. Oxalic, euphorbinic, chelidonic, crotonic, filixic, and aconitic acids are classified as toxic substances.