Page 49 - Medicinal Plants_PharmD general

Metabolic plant cell

In order to appreciate the organization of the biochemical processes
involved in the production of both food-reserves and secondary plant
metabolites, it is necessary to have some knowledge of the fine structure
of the living plant cell. The cell may be considered the unit of life because
it is the smallest unit known to be able to replicate itself and to develop in
an orderly fashion from a simple beginning to a very specialized end.

Structural details of plant cells

Perhaps the most notable thing about cells is their
compartmentalization into membrane-bound organelles. In considering
the various parts of the cell in more detail, we should always keep in mind
the complex activities of the living cell that result from the coordinated
activities of the cell parts whose structural details we are now considering.
Cells may be divided into

1. Protoplast (protoplasm surrounded by cell membrane).
2. Cell wall.
The protoplasm is divided into many compartments by an array of
particles, membranes, and organelles. The plasmalemma is the membrane
separating the protoplast from the cell wall.

Cytoplasm

The protoplasm of a cell consists of cytoplasm, with nucleus and
different organelles, surrounded by cell membrane. Thus, cytoplasm is a
part of the protoplasm of a cell. Cytoplasm is the jelly like substance, gel-
like matrix lying just below the cell membrane, housing most of the cell
organelles. It is made up of water, enzymes, salts, organelles, and various
organic molecules. It is not classified as one of the cell organelles because

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