Secondary Metabolites in Edible Species : Looking beyond Nutritional Value

Abstract

Secondary metabolites are organic molecules of low molecular weight, biosynthesized by any living being using a wide range of biosynthetic pathways, known as secondary metabolism. In evolutionary terms, secondary metabolism is seen as a set of specialized pathways that use a varied and specialized series of enzymes. Secondary metabolism aims to produce molecules with specific functions that promote the adaptability and survival of the species. However, secondary metabolites are not molecules essential to life, as are the lipids, carbohydrates and amino acids involved in basic life functions and produced by the primary metabolism. Terrestrial plants and algae, because they are sessile species, synthesize an admirable structural diversity of secondary metabolites. […]. (excerpt) ; This work was funded by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, the European Union, QREN, FEDER, COMPETE, by funding the cE3c centre (UIDB/00329/2020) and the LAQV-REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020) research units, and funded by the project EthnoHERBS (H2020-MSCA-RISE-2018, No. 823973). ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion