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This book reviews the antimicrobial and antiviral properties of numerous recently reported phytochemicals, and describes their mechanisms of antimicrobial actions. Discusses use of phytochemicals to treat microbial disease, for food preservation and more.

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Humans have utilized the bioactive principles of different plants for various beneficial physiological properties including antimicrobial properties for many centuries. However, interests of using medicinal plants declined in the 20th century with the availability of effective synthetic antimicrobial drugs. The development of microbial resistance to various drugs has accelerated research interests towards the use of phytochemicals as alternatives to synthetic drugs in the recent years. This book presents an comprehensive reviews on the antimicrobial and antiviral properties of numerous recently reported phytochemicals, and their mechanisms of antimicrobial actions. Some of the chapters have critically discussed the beneficial and adverse effects of antibacterial, and stimulatory activities of dietary phytochemicals on rumen microbial populations, and gut microbial populations of humans and animals. Microbial adaptation and resistance of microbes to phytochemicals has also been highlighted. On the applied apects, the use of phytochemicals against drug resistance microbes, to treat microbial diseases, for food preservation, to inhibit methanogenic archaea in the rumen, and to modulate lipid biohydrogenating microbial populations to increase conjugated linoleic acids in animal-derived foods have been presented in different chapters.

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List of contributors.- Preface .- 1 An overview of antimicrobial properties of different classes of phytochemicals.- 2 Antimicrobial properties of flavonoids.- 3 Antiviral properties of Phytochemicals.- 4 Antimicrobial properties of organosulfur compounds.- 5 Antimicrobial activities of essential oils.- 6 Phytochemicals against drug-resistant microbes.- 7 Phytochemicals as anti-microbial food preservatives.- 8 Dietary tannins on microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract in ruminants.- 9 Manipulating ruminal biohydrogenation by the use of plants bioactive compounds.- 10 Essentials oils and rumen microbial populations.- 11 Saponins: effects on rumen microbial ecosystem and metabolism in the rumen.- 12 Effect of plant secondary metabolites on rumen methanogens and methane emissions by ruminants.- 13 Phytochemicals and gut microbial populations in non-ruminants.- Index.

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