Botany online 1996-2004. No further update, only historical document of botanical science!
Esters are the product of a condensation reaction of an alcohol and an acid.
The breaking of an ester bond is called saponification, it is actually a hydrolysis. The ester formations with phosphoric acid are especially important and here the sugar phosphates and the compound lipids (among them are the fats) that consist of a glycerine and a fatty acid part are to be mentioned. Many plant scents belong to the esters.