A REVIEW ON PLANT TOXIN

Ramla P.*, R.V. Celestin Baboo, Shiji Kumar P.S., Sirajudheen M.K. and Sherin A.

ABSTRACT

Since ancient times, plants have been used in many areas of life due to their characteristic secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, phenols and terpenoids, especially for medical purposes. Toxins naturally occur in a variety of plants. Plants develop to produce natural products as a means of fighting animals. The alkaloids are by far the most common plant toxins. Due to their enormous structural diversity and different mechanisms of action, examples can be selected that serve as paradigms for practically every type of herbivore interaction. Plant toxins show many useful effects that can be used in the treatment of the respective diseases, and they can be modified to show better affinity and effectiveness. Most of the non-nutrient chemicals that people ingest in their normal diet are naturally occurring secondary metabolites of food crops. It has been proposed to define inherent plant toxins as plant components that can have adverse effects on human consumption of plants or plant products.

Keywords: Plant toxins; Secondary metabolites; Herbivore; Inherent plant toxicants.