Abstract

Natural products are substances that are confined from living organisms, they are in the form of primary or secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites are compounds with varied chemical structures, produced by some plants and strains of microbial species. Unlike primary metabolites (nucleotides, amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids) that are essential for growth, secondary metabolites are not. Secondary metabolites are produced or synthesized during the stationary stage. In this chapter, we will discuss secondary metabolites from natural products synthesized mainly by plants, fungi, and bacteria. Plants synthesize a large diversity of secondary metabolites; plant secondary metabolites are split into four groups namely alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, and glucosinolates. Several classes of fungal and bacterial secondary metabolites, their sources, and pharmacological uses associated with the secondary metabolites are also discussed. Therefore, several classes of secondary metabolites are responsible for the biological and pharmacological activities of plants and herbal medicines.

Highlights

  • Secondary metabolites are natural products synthesized mainly by plants, fungi and bacteria

  • Plant secondary metabolites can be divided into four major classes: alkaloids, phenolic compounds, terpenes, and glucosinolates [5, 6]

  • Polyketides are a family of natural products which are synthesized by polyketide synthase (PKS) enzymes with different biological activities and pharmacological properties

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Summary

Introduction

Secondary metabolites are natural products synthesized mainly by plants, fungi and bacteria. Secondary metabolites are molecules with low molecular weight and various biological activities and chemical structures [1]. Secondary metabolites are called specialized metabolites; they generally mediate ecological interactions by increasing their ability to survive [2]. Secondary metabolites function as a defense against herbivores and other interspecies in plants; and it was first established by A. kossel in 1910, and was discovered 20 years later as an end product of nitrogen metabolism by Friedrich Czapek a Botanist [3]

Plant secondary metabolites
Alkaloids
Phenolic compounds
Terpenoids
Fungal secondary metabolites
Bacterial secondary metabolites
Phenazine
Polyketides
Nonribosomal peptides
Conclusion
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