|
|
Article: Defenses, Chemical
- Article from:
- Plant Sciences
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Defenses, Chemical
All plants produce a diverse group of chemicals whose main function is to protect the plant against
herbivores
and diseases; these are the plant's chemical defenses. Many of these compounds seem to have no role in such core plant functions as growth and reproduction, and they are synthesized in unique pathways in the plant. As a result, they are often called secondary compounds or secondary metabolites. Others, including many
enzymes
, also have functions in growth, reproduction, and acquiring light or nutrients. Even though humans have exploited these plant products for thousands of years, it was not until the 1950s that scientists reasoned that these chemicals ...