Metabolism includes reactions that cause a plant to shift its leaves towards a light source, cause the chloroplast to produce photosynthetic sugars from sunlight, Carbon dioxide, and water, as well as countless other reactions that take place in the plant.
Metabolism includes the production of plant primary and secondary compounds.
These processes take place in most, if not all, cells of the living plant. Common examples of primary compounds are DNA, RNA, chlorophyll, amino acids, and starch. Plant Secondary Compounds Plant Secondary Compounds can be defined simply as those compounds that are not primary compounds. The classification of a compound as a secondary compound is necessary if that compound does not seem to directly function in the processes of growth and development. Although their use to a plant is harder to determine, it can not be stressed too much that secondary compounds are a normal part of a plant's metabolism.