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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.
Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants.Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and plant biology, and the biosynthesis of these compounds.
Organic chemistry was regarded at that time as the chemistry of substances that plants and animals are composed of. It was a relatively complex form of chemistry and stood in stark contrast to inorganic chemistry, the principles of which had been established in 1789 by the Frenchman Antoine Lavoisier in his work Traité Élémentaire de Chimie ...
[179] [181] Most alkaloids are present in the raw plants in the form of salts of organic acids. [179] The extracted alkaloids may remain salts or change into bases. [ 180 ] Base extraction is achieved by processing the raw material with alkaline solutions and extracting the alkaloid bases with organic solvents, such as 1,2-dichloroethane ...
There are several ways to quickly increase the amount of humus. Combining compost, plant or animal materials/waste, or green manure with soil will increase the amount of humus in the soil. Compost: decomposed organic material. Plant and animal material and waste: dead plants or plant waste such as leaves or bush and tree trimmings, or animal ...
There are three primary types of plant oil, differing both the means of extracting the relevant parts of the plant, and in the nature of the resulting oil: Vegetable fats and oils were historically extracted by putting part of the plant under pressure, squeezing out the oil. Macerated oils consist of a base oil to which parts of plants are added.
Juglone is an example of such a molecule inhibiting the growth of other plant species around walnut trees. [citation needed] The aquatic vascular plant Myriophyllum spicatum produces ellagic, gallic and pyrogallic acids and (+)-catechin, allelopathic phenolic compounds inhibiting the growth of blue-green alga Microcystis aeruginosa. [59]
Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. These can be activated by enzyme hydrolysis, which causes the sugar part to be broken off, making the chemical available for use. Terpenes are a large and diverse class of organic compounds , produced by a variety of plants, particularly conifers , which are often strong smelling ...