Roles of Indole as an

A variety of bacteria, and some plants, produce large quantities of indole, and thus, indole and its derivatives are widespread in prokaryotic and eukar-yotic communities. Recently, indole was shown to be an intercellular, inter-species, and interkingdom signaling molecule. Indole and its derivatives can suppress the bacterial pathogenesis of several antibiotic-resistant pathogens by inhi-biting quorum sensing and virulence factor production. Insects sense indole, which controls their behavior. Furthermore, indole controls plant defense systems and growth, and modulates oxidative stress, intestinal inflammation, and hor-mone secretion in animals. Emerging data suggest that indoles may influ-ence human diseases, such as inflam-matory, neurological, and metabolic diseases