Organic compounds play an important role in our daily activities. There is hardly any walk of life where we do not need the organic compounds. The food that we eat is essentially a mixture of organic compounds. The changes which the food undergoes in our bodies are organic chemical reactions. The clothes that we wear whether of cotton or synthetic fiber all are organic in character. The soap, cosmetics, perfume, oils, plastics, explosives, rubber, dyestuffs, paper, insecticides, etc., are all organic compounds. In the medicinal field, organic compounds are indispensable. Antibiotics, sulpha drugs, alkaloids, aspirin, iodoform, etc., are organic compounds. There is hardly any industry which is not dependent on organic compounds. The following list clearly illustrates the importance of organic compounds.
1. Food: Carbohydrate, Proteins, Fats, vitamins, Enzymes, etc.
2. Clothes: - Cotton, Silk, Wool, Nylon, Rayon, Dacron, etc.
3. Fuels: - coal, Wood, Natural gas, Petrol, etc.
4. Medicines: - Penicillin, Streptomycin, Chloromycetin, Sulphadiazine, Morphine, Aspirin, Iodoform, Cocaine, etc.
5. Explosives: - Nitroglycerine, Nitrocellulose, T.N.B, T. N.T, etc.
6. Dyes: - Indigo, Malachite green, Alizarin, etc.
7. Insecticides: - D.D.T, Gammexane, Malathion, etc.
8. Household and other common articles:- soaps, Cosmetics, Perfumes, Detergents, paper, Rubber, Plastics, Leather, Resins, Inks, Paints, Varnishes, Photographic films, etc.