| Popis: |
Higher plants have been exploited as a source of biologically active compounds since antiquity. In particular, the ability to inhibit the growth of spoilage and food poisoning bacteria, human and animal pathogens and a number of filamentous fungi has been of immense importance to man over the centuries (Zaika 1989; Deans and Svoboda 1990a; Deans et al. 1990). It is worth noting that even with today’s battery of synthetic and semi-synthetic antibiotics, over 25% of pharmaceutical preparations in the West contain at least one component originating from plant sources: in the East this percentage is far higher. That some of these plant antimicrobials also possess antioxidant properties is a welcome bonus in the quest to preserve the food reserves of the world. |
