Abstract
I did not believe Bruce Ames (1983) when he said we consumed 10,000 times more natural pesticides than synthetic pesticide residues, so I set out trying to disprove him. But then I learned that tannins were viricidal and essential oils were antiseptic and that tannins and essential oils may constitute up to 10% of the dry weight of such culinary herbs as Oregano (Duke, 1992c) meaning that many herbs and spices contain 100,000 parts per million (ppm) natural pesticides or biocides. Spices from Allium (chives, garlic, leek, onion, etc.) to Zingiber (ginger) are well-endowed with phytochemicals which have proven medicinal and pesticidal properties.
“Most of the species suggested to have pronounced chemical effects on themselves or other species have been demonstrated subsequently to have such effects...Many, widely used in medicine and...known to have powerful medicinal effects, have pronounced allelopathic effects also.” (Rice, 1984)
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References
Ames, B. N., 1983, Dietary carcinogens and anticarcinogens, Science, 221:1256–1262.
Ames, B. N., Profet, M., and Gold, L. S., 1990, Nature’s chemicals and synthetic chemicals: Comparative toxicology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA, 87:7782–7786.
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Duke, J. A., 1991b, What’s happening with natural compounds, p. 299–318. in: “Biological Control of Postharvest Diseases of Fruits and Vegetables (Workshop Proceedings),” C. Wilson and E. Chalutz, eds., USDA, ARS-92, June 1991, 324 p.
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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Duke, J.A. (1992). Natural Medicines are Natural Pesticides?. In: Nigg, H.N., Seigler, D. (eds) Phytochemical Resources for Medicine and Agriculture. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2584-8_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2584-8_11
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