BIOSYNTHESIS OF THE HOP RESINS

Abstract
Sodium acetate labelled with radioactive carbon in the carboxyl group was injected into a hop bine and the radioactive humuione was isolated. From a study of the distribution of the radioactivity within the humuione molecule, it is concluded that this substance arises as a result of the head-to-tail condensation of acetate units. A biosynthetic scheme is presented which suggests that humuione and lupulone arise from a common precursor.