be a versatile raw material, widely applicable in the food, cosmetic, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and renewable energy industries, providing progress in several
fields of science and technology.
Keywords
Prosopis juliflora · Fabaceae · Mesquite · Alkaloids · Shikimic acid
1
Introduction
A plant’s natural habitat offers several biotic and abiotic challenges, which, over
time, stimulates the development of defense mechanisms in order to survive in such
hostile environments [1]. Natural products that have toxic, repellant, or antidigestive
effects, such as cyanogenic glucosides, glucosinolates, alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics, and proteinase inhibitor, represent direct defenses against herbivores. In the
same way, it can be highlighted that there are compounds released by plants that
impair plant-plant interactions by inhibiting germination and seedling growth of
neighboring species, providing more energy resources to the emitting plant and thus
enabling better chances of survival [2]. Physical barriers, such as cuticles, trichomes,
suberin, callose, and thorns that impede, for instance, pathogen ingression and
arthropod access to plant tissues are also considered direct defense mechanisms
[3, 4]. Therefore, this co-evolutionary struggle between plants, environment, and other
organisms leads to an improvement in a huge variety of specialized compounds that
may act as a direct or indirect guard against what is known as allelochemicals [5].
Allelochemicals are nonnutritional secondary metabolites produced by plants and
other living organisms that display positive or negative effects upon the growth,
health, behavior, or population biology of neighboring organisms [6]. In plant–plant
allelopathy, the more common impaired functions are respiration; photosynthesis;
water balance and stomatal function; stem conductance of water; xylem element
flux; membrane permeability; cell division and development; protein synthesis; and
enzyme activity alteration [7]. Allelochemicals are widespread throughout different
plant structures such as seeds, flowers, pollen, leaves, stems, and roots, or sometimes
can be found in just one or two such locations [2].
Strictly, allelochemicals should really only be applied to those substances
established by quality experimental evidence (especially in genuine field circumstances) and not simply to a plant-derived compound which shows toxicity toward
some (perhaps irrelevant) other plant during in vitro bioassay [2]. Studies have been
reported in allelopathy showing the ecological mechanisms of exotic plant invasion
as well as demonstrating ecosystem-level vegetation change following exotic invasion [8, 9]. Not only do these exotic plants bring with them novel allelochemicals
that adversely affect germination and growth of native plants, but the chemicals
stimulate the synthesis of allelochemicals by their rhizospheric biota [10, 11].
In this chapter, we attempt to discuss certain features of Prosopis juliflora, its
most important allelochemicals, and its future prospects in order to make a rational
use of this invasive species.
522
G. A. de Brito Damasceno et al.
fields of science and technology.
Keywords
Prosopis juliflora · Fabaceae · Mesquite · Alkaloids · Shikimic acid
1
Introduction
A plant’s natural habitat offers several biotic and abiotic challenges, which, over
time, stimulates the development of defense mechanisms in order to survive in such
hostile environments [1]. Natural products that have toxic, repellant, or antidigestive
effects, such as cyanogenic glucosides, glucosinolates, alkaloids, terpenoids, phenolics, and proteinase inhibitor, represent direct defenses against herbivores. In the
same way, it can be highlighted that there are compounds released by plants that
impair plant-plant interactions by inhibiting germination and seedling growth of
neighboring species, providing more energy resources to the emitting plant and thus
enabling better chances of survival [2]. Physical barriers, such as cuticles, trichomes,
suberin, callose, and thorns that impede, for instance, pathogen ingression and
arthropod access to plant tissues are also considered direct defense mechanisms
[3, 4]. Therefore, this co-evolutionary struggle between plants, environment, and other
organisms leads to an improvement in a huge variety of specialized compounds that
may act as a direct or indirect guard against what is known as allelochemicals [5].
Allelochemicals are nonnutritional secondary metabolites produced by plants and
other living organisms that display positive or negative effects upon the growth,
health, behavior, or population biology of neighboring organisms [6]. In plant–plant
allelopathy, the more common impaired functions are respiration; photosynthesis;
water balance and stomatal function; stem conductance of water; xylem element
flux; membrane permeability; cell division and development; protein synthesis; and
enzyme activity alteration [7]. Allelochemicals are widespread throughout different
plant structures such as seeds, flowers, pollen, leaves, stems, and roots, or sometimes
can be found in just one or two such locations [2].
Strictly, allelochemicals should really only be applied to those substances
established by quality experimental evidence (especially in genuine field circumstances) and not simply to a plant-derived compound which shows toxicity toward
some (perhaps irrelevant) other plant during in vitro bioassay [2]. Studies have been
reported in allelopathy showing the ecological mechanisms of exotic plant invasion
as well as demonstrating ecosystem-level vegetation change following exotic invasion [8, 9]. Not only do these exotic plants bring with them novel allelochemicals
that adversely affect germination and growth of native plants, but the chemicals
stimulate the synthesis of allelochemicals by their rhizospheric biota [10, 11].
In this chapter, we attempt to discuss certain features of Prosopis juliflora, its
most important allelochemicals, and its future prospects in order to make a rational
use of this invasive species.
522
G. A. de Brito Damasceno et al.