Some chemical and physiological properties of 3-indolylpyruvic acid

Abstract

3-Ihdolylpyruvic acid (IPyA) was synthesized by an improved method and fully characterized. It broke down completely on chromatography under the conditions used to demonstrate its alleged presence in maize. The physiological activity of synthetic IPyA in the Avena straight-growth test is due mainly, if not entirely, to its breakdown products. Examination of its activity on root growth demonstrates that it is not identical with accelerator-[alpha].