Abstract
This chapter presents the aspects of the metabolism and physiology of gibberellins (GAs). The GAs are a group of diterpenoid acids, which function as endogenous regulators of the growth and development of higher plants. General acceptance of their hormonal role is based on the observation that GAs are natural components of the vast majority of higher plants, and that exogenous application of μg quantities of it can induce a wide range of plant growth responses. The concentration of GAs in the acidic ethyl acetate soluble fraction is usually very low so a multistep analytical procedure has to be employed to attain a degree of purity that facilitates an accurate determination of GA content. In most instances, extracts that have been subjected to a range of group purification procedures will still require further purification before successful attempts can be made at GA analysis. This is achieved through the use of analytical methods, which separate the GAs to some degree. The chapter explains the separatory techniques for GAs.