Phytochemicals
help in defending plants and they are so intricate, that each taxonomic
grouping of plants can be identified by the unique phytochemicals that are
produced by that group. Let us find out more about phytochemicals...
Everyday
Chemistry - Meet Phytoalexins: Natural Plant Antibiotics
Love
eating veggies? If yes, then you shouldn't miss this information!
Do
you know why we make sure infected leaves are removed from leafy vegetables? It
is quite amazing to see how nature works. Plants are used as food by animals
and humans use plants and animals as our food. Plants have naturally occurring
chemicals known as Phytochemicals. Phytochemicals help in defending plants and
they are so intricate, that each taxonomic grouping of plants can be identified
by the unique phytochemicals that are produced by that group
Pre-existing
Defensive Phytochemicals
Most
of the biochemical facility of plants is mainly for protection from being used
as food by bacteria, fungi, insects and larger herbivores like humans.
Domestication of plants has focused mainly on the systematic selection of plant
mutants with defective phytochemical defenses. Plants that humans cultivate are
not as toxic as the wild ones. Humans have also developed cultural practices of
plant selection and food preparation that will avoid or remove the most toxic
of residual phytochemicals.
Thus,
humans have learned to avoid the leaves of rhubarb and potato plants. Many
other plants are fermented, heated or soaked in various different ways to
remove the most toxic compounds before consumption.
Damaged
or Infected Plants Are Deadly
Many
plants that we eat become toxic when pathogens attack them. As a result, the
plants produce very dangerous phytochemicals and phytoalexins. This is why when
we plan to prepare leafy vegetables like spinach, we make sure to remove the
infected parts of the leaves.
The
bitter taste of many pre-existing phytochemicals like alkaloids triggers
vomiting. In the first trimester of pregnancy, womens embryos are extremely
sensitive which is why they are nauseated by the smell of cooking vegetables.
Detoxification
of Phytochemicals
We
are protected from the natural toxic phytochemicals that are common in
vegetables as some of those chemicals are not absorbed by our bodies. The
lining of the intestines and the liver produce enzymes that modify phytochemicals
in order to render them harmless. This is why we can eat many vegetables that
would otherwise kill dogs or cats since they have different defenses against
phytochemicals
Uses
of Phytochemicals
Although
phytochemicals are toxic, they can be also be used as antibiotics to reduce the
growth of human bacterial or fungal pathogens in food. Herbs and spices that
are developed protect us against particular pathogens in foods. This is how we
have smartly learnt to use phytochemicals to make our food healthier.
http://humantouchofchemistry.com/meet-phytoalexins-natural-plant-antibiotics.htm
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