Harinder P.S. Makkar – författare

Plant Secondary Metabolites provides reliable assays that will equip researchers to meet the unprecedented challenge of fulfilling the huge demand for feed driven by increasing demand of animal protein in developing countries. Using more than a decade of experience working with the quantification of plant secondary metabolites, the authors have created a manual allowing for the safe and efficient use of locally available feed resources. This comprehensive new volume also offers readers a better understanding of plant-animal interactions. The methodologies provided in this volume may also be used to determine plant secondary metabolites in human food and in studying the implications of their consumption on human health and welfare.

This volume contains methods for analysis of some important plant secondary metabolites, which may be conducted in laboratories equipped with basic facilities. The chemical nature of plant secondary metabolites and their known physiological effects and mechanisms of action are also briefly presented. The methods have been written in a recipe-like format designed for direct practical use in the laboratory. Authoritative and extensive, Plant Secondary Metabolites will become an essential reference for plant biologists, biochemists, and molecular and cell biologists.

The aim of this manual is to provide a comprehensive guide to the methods involved in collecting, preparing and screening plants for bioactive properties for manipulating key ruminal fermentation pathways and against gastrointestinal pathogens. The manual will better equip the reader with methodological approaches to initiate screening programmes to test for bioactivity in native plants and find ‘natural’ alternatives to chemicals for manipulating ruminal fermentation and gut health. The manual provides isotopic and non-isotopic techniques to efficiently screen plants or plant parts for a range of potential bioactives for livestock production. Each chapter has been contributed by experts in the field and methods have been presented in a format that is easily reproducible in the laboratory. It is hoped that this manual will be of great value to students, researchers and those involved in developing efficient and environmentally friendly livestock production systems.