| Summary: | Bibliography: pages 71-73. === This thesis reports on a phytochemical investigation with the view to supplementing morphological data with chemical data for a further taxonomic study of the relationship between Diastella, Leucospermum and the putative hybrid. This investigation was a part of a broader phytochemical study being undertaken at National Botanic Gardens, Kirstenbosch, in which the non-protein amino acid complements and the presence of certain flavonoids have been compared in several members of the Proteaceae. This project will eventually be extended to other taxa and other chemical compounds. Amino acids were selected to form part of this study as Prof. J. N. Eloff, Director of National Botanic Gardens, had good experience in the analysis of free amino acids. The necessary equipment had been installed in the laboratories at Kirstenbosch- and various analyses were being carried out, primarily in the Proteaceae. It was also decided to evaluate the potential use of amino acids for a taxonomic study of several genera of Proteaceae originating from both within and outside South Africa. The worth of using non-protein amino acids as chemotaxonomic markers has been the subject of criticism (e.g. Porter 1967), however they have been used successfully in recent years in chemotaxonomic studies and also for confirming the identity, at species level, of unidentified seeds (see Eloff 1983). Free amino acids have been used for chemotaxonomic analyses in various organisms, e.g. coelenterates, zoanthids, ciliates {Kittredge and Hughes 1964), algae (Scott 1954, Ito and Hashimota 1966), and angiosperms.
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