Indole 3 Acetic Acid (IAA)

Indole-3-acetic acid, is a heterocyclic compound that is an phytohormone called auxins. This colourless solid is probably the most important plant auxin. The molecule is derived from indole, containing a carboxymethyl group.  IAA has many different effects, as all auxins do, such as inducing cell elongation and cell division with all subsequent results for plant growth and development. There are less expensive and metabolically stable synthetic auxin analogs on the market for use in horticulture, such as indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA).Studies of IAA in the 1940s led to the development of the phenoxy herbicides 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T). Like IBA and NAA, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T are metabolically and environmentally more stable analogs of IAA.