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Capsidiol is a phytoalexin produced by certain plants in response to pathogenic attack.. Phytoalexins are antimicrobial substances, some of which are antioxidative as well. They are defined not by their having any particular chemical structure or character, but by the fact that they are defensively synthesized de novo by plants that produce the compounds rapidly at sites of pathogen infection.
Antimicrobial use has been common practice for at least 2000 years. Ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks used specific molds and plant extracts to treat infection. [5]In the 19th century, microbiologists such as Louis Pasteur and Jules Francois Joubert observed antagonism between some bacteria and discussed the merits of controlling these interactions in medicine. [6]
Phytoncides are antimicrobial allelochemic [dubious – discuss] volatile organic compounds derived from plants.The word, which means "exterminated by the plant" [citation needed] (from the Greek φυτόν "plant" and the Latin caedere "to kill"), was coined in 1928 by Boris P. Tokin, a Soviet biochemist then studying at Moscow State University. [1]
[citation needed] Decomposition of dead plant material causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized lignin-like humus or to break down into simpler forms (sugars and amino sugars, aliphatic and phenolic organic acids), which are further transformed into microbial biomass (microbial humus) or are reorganized, and further oxidized, into ...
Plant defensins (formerly gamma-thionins) are a family of primitive, highly stable, cysteine-rich defensins found in plants that function to defend them against pathogens and parasites. [1] Defensins are integral components of the innate immune system and belong to the ancient superfamily of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs).
Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes from Greek φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'. Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons and others as traditional medicine.
Plants synthesize a variety of phytochemicals, but most are derivatives: [9] Alkaloids are a class of chemical compounds containing a nitrogen ring. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals, and are part of the group of natural products (also called secondary metabolites).
Defense-activating compounds can move cell-to-cell and systematically through the plant's vascular system. However, plants do not have circulating immune cells, so most cell types exhibit a broad suite of antimicrobial defenses.