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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior pp 1–3Cite as

Alkaloid

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Alkaloids are cyclic compounds containing nitrogen in a negative oxidation state which is of limited distribution in a living organism. The term “alkaloid” marks its origin from the word “alkaline” which in Arabic means “ashes of plants.” They are generally known to be plant metabolites but are also produced by bacteria, fungi, and animals (Clark and Hufford 1992). Presently, more than 5,500 alkaloids are known and are highly placed with respect to their diversity, efficiency, and therapeutic significance. Research shows that almost 20% of the plants produce alkaloids and their major source in the flowering plants is the angiosperm (Pelletier 1983). Being toxic in nature, their main role in plants is to defend them against the micro-organisms, insects, and herbivores.

Chemically, they are a class of natural compounds, majority of which contain nitrogen and a few of them being non-nitrogen heterocyclic organic amines. Mostly, basic in nature but these compounds can also range from being...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology (MMV), Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India

    Neelabh

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  1. Neelabh
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Correspondence to Neelabh .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Gulfport, MS, USA

    Mystera M. Samuelson

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Neelabh (2019). Alkaloid. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_218-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_218-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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