Table of Contents

Biosynthesis and Chemical Properties of Natural Substances in Plants
Function of Natural Substances in Plants
Biological Effects on Microorganisms and Animals
Metabolism and Toxicity of Natural Substances in Mammals
Examples of Physiological Effects of Natural Substances Present in Food and in Medicinal Plants
Nature's Drugstore for a Healthy Life

About the Author

Herwig Gutzeit is Director of the Institute of Zoology at the Technische Universitat Dresden, Germany. After graduating from Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar) he obtained his PhD from Basel University (Switzerland). He habilitated at Freiburg University, Germany, and became a member of the Founding Committee of the Department of Biology at the TU Dresden where he works as Professor for Zoology and Developmental Biology since. Prof. Gutzeit published numerous scientific papers in the field of Developmental Biology and he studied the interactions of natural substances with molecular targets in animal and human cells. Jutta Ludwig-Muller is Professor for Plant Physiology and Director of the Institute of Botany at the Technische Universitat Dresden. She received her Diploma and Doctoral degree from Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt, Germany, where she also got her Habilitation in botany. She spent some time in the USA as research associate at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and as guest scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville. Prof. Ludwig-Muller has published over 100 scientific papers. She is also Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. Among other topics she studies the various roles of secondary metabolites in plants.