Evolution of secondary metabolites from an ecological and molecular phylogenetic perspective.

Plants have evolved a plethora of different chemical defenses covering nearly all classes of (secondary) metabolites that represent a major barrier to herbivory: Some are constitutive; others are induced after attack. Many compounds act directly on the herbivore, whereas others act indirectly via the attraction of organisms from other trophic levels that, in turn, protect the plant. An enormous diversity of plant (bio)chemicals are toxic, repellent, or antinutritive for herbivores of all types. Examples include cyanogenic glycosides, glucosinolates, alkaloids, and terpenoids; others are macromolecules and comprise latex or proteinase inhibitors. Their modes of action include membrane disruption, inhibition of nutrient and ion transport, inhibition of signal transduction processes, inhibition of metabolism, or disruption of the hormonal control of physiological processes. Recognizing the herbivore challenge and precise timing of plant activities as well as the adaptive modulation of the plants’ metabolism is important so that metabolites and energy may be efficiently allocated to defensive activities.

Plant Defense Against Herbivores: Chemical Aspects

Mechanism of action of insecticidal secondary metabolites of plant origin

Plants produce a wide diversity of secondary metabolites (SM) which serve them as defense compounds against herbivores, and other plants and microbes, but also as signal compounds. In general, SM exhibit a wide array of biological and pharmacological properties. Because of this, some plants or products isolated from them have been and are still used to treat infections, health disorders or diseases. This review provides evidence that many SM have a broad spectrum of bioactivities. They often interact with the main targets in cells, such as proteins, biomembranes or nucleic acids. Whereas some SM appear to have been optimized on a few molecular targets, such as alkaloids on receptors of neurotransmitters, others (such as phenolics and terpenoids) are less specific and attack a multitude of proteins by building hydrogen, hydrophobic and ionic bonds, thus modulating their 3D structures and in consequence their bioactivities. The main modes of action are described for the major groups of common plant secondary metabolites. The multitarget activities of many SM can explain the medical application of complex extracts from medicinal plants for more health disorders which involve several targets. Herbal medicine is not a placebo medicine but a rational medicine, and for several of them clinical trials have shown efficacy.

https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6320/2/3/251/pdf

Modes of Action of Herbal Medicines and Plant Secondary Metabolites

Allelopathy is a common biological phenomenon by which one organism produces biochemicals that influence the growth, survival, development, and reproduction of other organisms. These biochemicals are known as allelochemicals and have beneficial or detrimental effects on target organisms. Plant allelopathy is one of the modes of interaction between receptor and donor plants and may exert either positive effects (e.g., for agricultural management, such as weed control, crop protection, or crop re-establishment) or negative effects (e.g., autotoxicity, soil sickness, or biological invasion). To ensure sustainable agricultural development, it is important to exploit cultivation systems that take advantage of the stimulatory/inhibitory influence of allelopathic plants to regulate plant growth and development and to avoid allelopathic autotoxicity. Allelochemicals can potentially be used as growth regulators, herbicides, insecticides, and antimicrobial crop protection products. Here, we reviewed the plant allelopathy management practices applied in agriculture and the underlying allelopathic mechanisms described in the literature. The major points addressed are as follows: (1) Description of management practices related to allelopathy and allelochemicals in agriculture. (2) Discussion of the progress regarding the mode of action of allelochemicals and the physiological mechanisms of allelopathy, consisting of the influence on cell micro- and ultra-structure, cell division and elongation, membrane permeability, oxidative and antioxidant systems, growth regulation systems, respiration, enzyme synthesis and metabolism, photosynthesis, mineral ion uptake, protein and nucleic acid synthesis. (3) Evaluation of the effect of ecological mechanisms exerted by allelopathy on microorganisms and the ecological environment. (4) Discussion of existing problems and proposal for future research directions in this field to provide a useful reference for future studies on plant allelopathy.

/pdf/research-progress-on-the-use-of-plant-allelopathy-in-14fsrf2dwa.pdf

Research Progress on the use of Plant Allelopathy in Agriculture and the Physiological and Ecological Mechanisms of Allelopathy

Biochemical activities of berberine, palmatine and sanguinarine mediating chemical defence against microorganisms and herbivores

Several alkaloids are toxic to insects and vertebrates and, in addition, can inhibit the growth of bacteria and plant seedlings. In vitro assays were established to elucidate their modes of action and to understand their allelochemical properties. Basic molecular targets studied, present in all cells, included DNA intercalation, protein biosynthesis, and membrane stability. The degree of DNA intercalation was positively correlated with inhibition of DNA polymerase I, reverse transcriptase, and translation at the molecular level and with toxicity against insects and vertebrates at an organismic level. Inhibition of protein biosynthesis was positively correlated with animal toxicity. Molecular targets studied, present only in animals, included neuroreceptors (alpha1, alpha2, serotonin, muscarinic, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) and enzymes related to acetylcholine (acetylcholine esterase and choline acetyltransferase). The degree of binding of alkaloids to adrenergic, serotonin, and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors was positively correlated in G-protein-coupled receptors. Receptor binding and toxicity was correlated in insects. The biochemical properties of alkaloids are discussed. It is postulated that their structures were shaped in a process termed “evolutionary molecular modeling” to interact with a single and, more often, with several molecular targets at the same time. Many alkaloids are compounds with a broad activity spectrum that apparently have evolved as “multipurpose” defense compounds. The evolution of allelochemicals affecting more than one target could be a strategy to counteract adaptations by specialists and to help fight off different groups of enemies.

Modes of Action of Allelochemical Alkaloids: Interaction with Neuroreceptors, DNA, and Other Molecular Targets

Allelopathic Properties of Alkaloids and Other Natural Products: Possible Modes of Action

Handle everyday research tasks with reliable, citation-backed results

Your personal Research Agent to handle research tasks with citation-backed results

Popular Tasks used by Researchers

How can I help with your research?

Meet SciSpace

Get more enhanced response by uploading the PDFs you want me to reference.

No relevant PDFs in your library

SciSpace is the AI research assistant for academics. Run systematic literature reviews on 280M+ papers, and write papers with cited sources. Trusted by 1M+ students, PhDs & researchers.

SciSpace | AI for Research

Analyze PDFs

Code & Manuscripts

Funding & Grants

Literature & Patents

Medical & Clinical Data

Systematic Review

Visualize & Present

Web & Data

Build a Google Scholar-like website for your research.

Build a website

Create charts and images for your research

Create a Chart

Write a paper for submission to a journal

Draft a manuscript

Patent Search

Design eye-catching scientific posters in minutes.

Scientific Poster Generation

Systematic Literature Review

One task is running at the moment. Your messages will be shown right after.

Drag and drop or click here to browse

Loved by <highlight>1 million+</highlight> researchers

Extract a list of specific topics and their sources from unstructured text

Topics

Compare and analyze relevant papers that matches with your search

Papers

Get insights from PDFs and bookmarked papers from your library

My library

Recent searches

Try searching for:

Catch AI-generated content in scholarly and non-scholarly content

{ai} Detector

Ai Writer

Get PDF Summaries, highlighted text explanations 

Chat with PDF

Effortlessly create in-text citations and bibliographies in APA and 2,500 other formats

Citation generator

Get explanations, summaries, and answers on academic papers

Ease up your research workflow with {scispace}'s cohort of exciting AI tools

Elevate your academic writing skills and convey your ideas the way you want

Paraphraser

Explore our range of reading and writing tools

Your file is being prepared and should be ready in a few minutes. If it's a large file, it might take a bit longer. You can close this window, and we'll email you the file when it's done.

You have reached a maximum limit of <strong>{limit}</strong> columns in the table. Remove at least <strong>1</strong> column to add or create another one.

B. Latz-Brüning

Author Tools

Chat about Author

Papers

Biochemical activities of berberine, palmatine and sanguinarine mediating chemical defence against microorganisms and herbivores

Modes of Action of Allelochemical Alkaloids: Interaction with Neuroreceptors, DNA, and Other Molecular Targets

Allelopathic Properties of Alkaloids and Other Natural Products: Possible Modes of Action