Horizontal Natural Product Transfer: A Novel Attribution in Allelopathy

Whereas the translocation of allelochemicals between plants is well establishedfor many years, a corresponding transfer of common, typical natural products wasunknown until recently. This phenomenon was unveiled when the potentialsources of contaminations of plant derived commodities by nicotine andpyrrolizidine alkaloids were analyzed thoroughly. According to this so-calledHorizontal Natural Product Transfer, alkaloids, which are leached out fromdecomposing alkaloid containing plant parts (donor plants), are taken up by theroots of acceptor plants. Meanwhile, it becomes evident that not only alkaloidsare taken up by acceptor plants but also phenolic compounds such as coumarinsor stilbenes.In analogy to the widespread uptake of xenobiotics, the uptake of naturalproducts is also generally due to a simple diffusion of the substances acrossthe biomembranes and does not require a transporter. The uptake of certainsubstances only depends on their physicochemical properties