| Summary: | Humans have utilized the bioactive principles of different plants for various beneficial physiological properties, including antimicrobial properties, for many centuries. However, with the availability of effective, synthetic antimicrobial drugs, interest in using medicinal plants declined during the 20th century. In recent years, the development of microbial resistance to various drugs has focused research on the use of phytochemicals as alternatives to synthetic drugs. This book presents comprehensive reviews on the antimicrobial and antiviral properties of numerous recently reported phytochemicals, and their mechanisms of antimicrobial actions. Several chapters critically discuss the beneficial as well as adverse effects of antibacterial, and stimulatory activities of dietary phytochemicals on rumen and gut microbial populations of humans and animals. Microbial adaptation and the resistance of microbes to phytochemicals are also highlighted with other chapters covering more applied aspects
|
|---|