These plant chemical defenses are expressed in a variety of ways. In certain cases, they make it possible to prevent water loss in dry places, waterproofing leaf surfaces with waxes; in other cases, they constitute reinforcements in their structures, which can deter predators by forming resistant and/or fibrous materials that are too fibrous to be consumed. And, in most cases, these are volatile or soluble substances that are toxic to other plants, preventing their germination, and/or to animals, poisoning them or preventing predation by altering the taste.

A typical case of use of these components by man is that of herbs used as seasonings. Many species of secular use originate from the Mediterranean region, where we have 2 unfavorable seasons a year (cold and humid winter and hot and dry summer). Some strategies used by plants that must face an unfavorable season per year, such as the loss of leaves in autumn and regrowth in spring, would not be applicable here. What happens is that species such as basil, mint, thyme, rosemary and sage produce aromatic oils that scare away predators and pathogenic microbes, as they could not energetically tolerate the loss of leaf mass resulting from predation and diseases. And humans have developed a taste for the flavor of these oils, possibly due to their antimicrobial properties.

It is a short term course, based on narrations about simple backgrounds, and complementary materials for further study, such as links to videos and scientific articles. We will see some aspects about the manufacture of vegetable oils and vinegars, scientific topics on the subject and, finally, we’ll bring recipes with condiments and herbs.