Metabolites are the intermediate products produced during metabolism, which catalyzed by various enzymes within cells. The term metabolites are usually used for small molecules. It is estimated that there are more than 200000 known metabolites with different sources and functions.
According to different sources, metabolites can be divided into human metabolites, plant metabolites, and microbial metabolites.
Human Metabolites
Human metabolites can be divided into endogenous metabolites and exogenous metabolites.
- Endogenous metabolites: Endogenous metabolites refer to intermediate products or end products that are pre-existing in the body and formed during metabolism. It can be small molecule chemicals, or carbohydrates, bioactive peptides, nucleosides and nucleic acids, endogenous regulators, cytokines and proteins, etc. In addition to participating in important physiological processes, endogenous metabolites also have a variety of physiological functions and biological activities.
- Exogenous metabolites: Exogenous metabolites are some chemicals that exist in the external environment of human life. They may contact and enter the human body, causing certain biological effects. These exogenous metabolites include not only drugs, but also dietary supplements, food additives, and environmental contaminants. When exogenous metabolites greatly disrupt the metabolism and transport endogenous compounds into the body, they can be harmful to human body.
Plant Metabolites
Plant metabolites are divided into plant primary metabolites and plant secondary metabolites. Plant primary metabolites are formed in the growth phase of plants. They can maintain the physiological functions of plants and are known as central metabolites. Plant secondary metabolites are not required for vital processes of plants. However, they are important for various aspect of human life. Plant secondary metabolites are classified into terpenoids, phenolic compounds and nitrogen-containing compounds according to their chemical structure.
- Terpenes: Terpenes are derived chemically from 5-carbon isoprene units. They play an important defensive role in some plants such as polypodium, peppermint, lemon, basil, sage, corn, cotton and wild tobacco.
- Phenolic compounds: The common characteristic of phenolic compounds is the presence of one or more phenol groups. Phenolic compounds contribute significantly to color, taste, and flavor of plants.
- Nitrogen-containing compounds: Nitrogen-containing compounds include alkaloids, cyanogenic glucosides and glucosinates. Alkaloids are the most important nitrogen-containing compounds and widely used in modern medicine.
Microbial Metabolites
Microbial metabolites are divided into microbial primary metabolites and microbial secondary metabolites.
- Microbial primary metabolites: Microbial primary metabolites refer to substances produced by microorganisms through metabolic activities. They are necessary for growth and reproduction of microorganisms. Microbial primary metabolites include amino acids, nucleotides, polysaccharides, lipids, vitamins, etc.
- Microbial secondary metabolites: Microbial secondary metabolites refer to substances that are not necessary for the growth and reproduction of microorganisms or have no obvious physiological function for microorganisms. Microbial secondary metabolites include antibiotics, toxins, hormones, pigments, etc.
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