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Review
. 2010 Nov;15(6):761-70.
doi: 10.1007/s12192-010-0206-x. Epub 2010 Jun 4.

Xenohormesis: health benefits from an eon of plant stress response evolution

Philip L Hooper  1 , Paul L Hooper, Michael Tytell, Lászlo Vígh
Affiliations
Review

Xenohormesis: health benefits from an eon of plant stress response evolution

Philip L Hooper et al. Cell Stress Chaperones. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

Xenohormesis is a biological principle that explains how environmentally stressed plants produce bioactive compounds that can confer stress resistance and survival benefits to animals that consume them. Animals can piggyback off products of plants' sophisticated stress response which has evolved as a result of their stationary lifestyle. Factors eliciting the plant stress response can judiciously be employed to maximize yield of health-promoting plant compounds. The xenohormetic plant compounds can, when ingested, improve longevity and fitness by activating the animal's cellular stress response and can be applied in drug discovery, drug production, and nutritional enhancement of diet.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Longevity pathway demonstrating how caloric restriction, exercise, and stress-derived plant products activate the mammalian stress response
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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