Role of phenolics in the resistance mechanisms of plants against fungal pathogens and insects.

Plant phenolics are secondary metabolites that encompass several classes structurally diverse of natural products biogenetically arising from the shikimate-phenylpropanoids-flavonoids pathways. Plants need phenolic compounds for pigmentation, growth, reproduction, resistance to pathogens and for many other functions. Therefore, they represent adaptive characters that have been subjected to natural Correspondence/Reprint request: Prof. Vincenzo Lattanzio, Dipartimento di Scienze Agro-Ambientali, Chimica e Difesa Vegetale, Universita degli Studi di Foggia, 71100-Foggia, Italy. E-mail: v.lattanzio@unifg.it Vincenzo Lattanzio et al. 24 selection during evolution. Plants synthesize a greater array of secondary…