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Functional Diversity of Plant Metabolome and Microbiome in Health Services to the Human Life

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Abstract

The basic attribute that differentiates animals and plants apart from their established biological differences and photosynthesis is that the former tend to escape from vagaries of nature to protect themselves “physically” whereas the latter being immobile (anchored in soil) have the only choice to face the adversities on their stride, “chemically”. In philosophical terms this also teaches us a biological strategy that the best way to face challenges in life is to face, respond with activity (metabolic) and cope with them so as to turn them into capabilities (biological functions). The plants have acquired this capability by evolving in such a way through phytomolecules through a flexible functional metabolome that caters to their ever-changing demands for survival and existence. The best models to study the functional diversity of plant metabolomes are the non-model medicinal and aromatic plants. This paper discusses functional diversity of plant metabolomes vis-à-vis their utility for mankind in tangible terms through illustrative case studies. Humans (~100 trillion cells) on the other hand are merely 10 % of their own in terms of genome or metabolome being dependent on 90 % of the cells that are in and on them of the microflora that determines human health and performance through a unique colonization and balance of populations in the gut or GI tract.

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Acknowledgments

Sincere thanks to my student & colleague Dr. Ashutosh Shukla who is presently Senior Scientist at CIMAP/CSIR for enabling the content of the manuscript. The base information emanating from CSIR/CIMAP and NutraHelix Biotech knowledge banks in this paper is duly acknowledged.

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  1. Suman P. S. Khanuja

    Present address: , C41-42, Double Storey, Ramesh Nagar, New Delhi, 110015, India

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  1. NutraHelix Biotech Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India

    Suman P. S. Khanuja

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Correspondence to Suman P. S. Khanuja.

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Khanuja, S.P.S. Functional Diversity of Plant Metabolome and Microbiome in Health Services to the Human Life. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 82 (Suppl 2), 291–294 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-012-0105-2

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