xenohormesis
Type: concept Aliases: xenohormetic pathway
- Systems Analogy How eating stressed plants gives our bodies early chemical cues to activate cellular defenses.
- Formal Definition The hypothesis that animals have evolved to respond to stress-induced chemical signals synthesized by plants, using them as early warnings to upregulate endogenous defense mechanisms.
Mentioned In
- Biological CircuitsPhytochemical Regulation of Aging Pathways
Scientific Sources & Literature Citations
- [1] Empirical Study Howitz KT, Sinclair DA. Xenohormesis: sensing the chemical cues of other species' adversity. Cell. 2008;133(3):387-391. ↗
"Xenohormesis explains how plant distress molecules activate survival mechanisms in heterotrophs."