“Plants are chemical factories. Unlike animals-- having the luxury of teeth and claws and legs to help them get out of a tight spot-- plants spend their lives in one place and have evolved to rely upon elaborate chemical defenses to ward off unwanted predators. For this reason, plants have in their arsenal an amazing array of thousands of chemicals noxious or toxic to bacteria, fungi, insects, herbivores, and yes, even humans. Fortunately for us, this chemical diversity also includes many compounds that are beneficial to humans-vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants, anti-carcinogens, and many compounds with medicinal value.”
http://www.geo-pie.cornell.edu/issues/toxins.html
.jpg)
