Introduction
The wide application, which GLC has found in the chemistry of steroidal compounds
is reflected by an imposing number of publications. Although the greater part of these
articles is related to the analysis of steroid hormones for clinical purposes, much
work has also been done in the field of steroidal compounds, derived from botanical
material. Thus, the GLG investigation of unsaponifiable matter in plant lipids has
become a routine method for identification purposes [1–8]. Other plant steroids which
have been subjected to GLC are sapogenins [9], cardiac glycosides [10, 11], steroidal
amines [12] etc. One could conceive of many further examples, where the application
of GLC would prove to be a very efficient substitute for the painstaking and time
consuming work which until now is mostly done by more conventional methods. Rather
than to go into details about the applications, this paper will give only a brief
survey of current experimental methods.
