Phenolics from Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Characterisation and Potential as Biostimulants and Bioprotectants

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Abstract

Biostimulants and bioprotectants are derived from natural sources and can enhance crop growth and protect crops from pests and pathogens, respectively. They have attracted much attention in the past few decades and contribute to a more sustainable and eco-friendly agricultural system. Despite not having been explored extensively, plant extracts and their component secondary metabolites, including phenolic compounds have been shown to have biostimulant effects on plants, including enhancement of growth attributes and yield, as well as bioprotectant effects, including antimicrobial, insecticidal, herbicidal and nematicidal effects. Medicinal and aromatic plants are widely distributed all over the world and are abundant sources of phenolic compounds. This paper reviews the characterisation of phenolic compounds and extracts from medicinal and aromatic plants, including a brief overview of their extraction, phytochemical screening and methods of analysis. The second part of the review highlights the potential for use of phenolic compounds and extracts as biostimulants and bioprotectants in agriculture as well as some of the challenges related to their use.

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Plant Phenolics: Extraction, Analysis and Their Antioxidant and Anticancer Properties

Jin Dai, Russell Mumper (2010)

Phenolics are broadly distributed in the plant kingdom and are the most abundant secondary metabolites of plants. Plant polyphenols have drawn increasing attention due to their potent antioxidant properties and their marked effects in the prevention of various oxidative stress associated diseases such as cancer. In the last few years, the identification and development of phenolic compounds or extracts from different plants has become a major area of health- and medical-related research. This review provides an updated and comprehensive overview on phenolic extraction, purification, analysis and quantification as well as their antioxidant properties. Furthermore, the anticancer effects of phenolics in-vitro and in-vivo animal models are viewed, including recent human intervention studies. Finally, possible mechanisms of action involving antioxidant and pro-oxidant activity as well as interference with cellular functions are discussed.

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Response of Phenylpropanoid Pathway and the Role of Polyphenols in Plants under Abiotic Stress

Anket Sharma, Babar Shahzad, Abdul Rehman … (2019)

Phenolic compounds are an important class of plant secondary metabolites which play crucial physiological roles throughout the plant life cycle. Phenolics are produced under optimal and suboptimal conditions in plants and play key roles in developmental processes like cell division, hormonal regulation, photosynthetic activity, nutrient mineralization, and reproduction. Plants exhibit increased synthesis of polyphenols such as phenolic acids and flavonoids under abiotic stress conditions, which help the plant to cope with environmental constraints. Phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway is activated under abiotic stress conditions (drought, heavy metal, salinity, high/low temperature, and ultraviolet radiations) resulting in accumulation of various phenolic compounds which, among other roles, have the potential to scavenge harmful reactive oxygen species. Deepening the research focuses on the phenolic responses to abiotic stress is of great interest for the scientific community. In the present article, we discuss the biochemical and molecular mechanisms related to the activation of phenylpropanoid metabolism and we describe phenolic-mediated stress tolerance in plants. An attempt has been made to provide updated and brand-new information about the response of phenolics under a challenging environment.