The book is aimed primarily at university undergraduates, postgraduates
and professional chemists who wish to build up their
knowledge of terpenoid chemistry. It is intended to serve as a general
introduction to the exciting field of terpenoid chemistry. Terpenoids play
an important part in all our lives, from perfumes through insect pest
control to pharmaceuticals such as steroid hormones and the anti-cancer
drug paclitaxel. The subject therefore also serves to illustrate the
importance of chemistry in everyday life.
In the interests of length and also of the author’s expertise, we will
concentrate on the mono- and sesquiterpenoids and primarily those of
interest as fragrance ingredients. Higher terpenoids will be mentioned
and the reader will be able to extrapolate the basic principles of terpenoid
chemistry from the more detailed examples using lower terpenoids to
these higher homologues.