SOME CHROMATOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF GERMINATION STIMULANTS IN PLANT-DERIVED SMOKE EXTRACTS

Plant-derived smoke extracts stimulate the germination of many differe nt seeds. the present report explains steps to determine some of the c hemical characteristics of the compounds concerned. Grand Rapids lettu ce seeds were used as a bioassay because smoke-derived extracts overco me their light-sensitivity. The active compounds were partitioned into ethyl acetate, separated by various TLC systems and fractionated by r everse phase HPLC. They are stable surviving a series of chromatograph ic steps and are very active biologically. In order to ascertain their chemical properties it was necessary to use a range of dilutions afte r each isolation step. It would appear that similar types of compounds are present in smoke extracts derived from different plant material.