by
lmh » Wed Apr 23, 2014 8:37 am
It's a difficult one, but a lot depends on where you are publishing. If your plant is closely related to the other 4 species (highly likely) then it is highly likely it will share many of the same biochemical pathways and make the same products. If you are publishing in a physiological journal, not a phytochemical one, and the identity of the peaks is a nice extra in your paper rather than the central feature of the argument, then you may well be able to publish with the data you have, provided you don't try to over-interpret. A more chemically-orientated journal would require a much better standard of proof.
My approach would be to cite the other paper copiously, and indicate that your data suggest your species is similar to the existing 4 species, producing similar products (I wouldn't claim identical, just in case of isomers etc.); you can back this up with accurate mass (an IT-ToF has probably given you data to within 5ppm?), and if you had UV detection, don't forget to check whether you have similar UV maxima, which are another diagnostic feature. If you have MS^n data, it is also worth checking whether these generally agree with the expected structures.
In the end it depends on the reviewers, but given that many phytochemicals are almost impossible to source as standards, and some are nearly impossible to purify in sufficient quantity for NMR, your situation isn't unusual. I think many of us appreciate that there is a dilemma, and that sometimes it is better to accept a lower standard of evidence than block publication of papers that otherwise make a useful contribution to general knowledge.