List of contributors -- Preface --  1 An overview of antimicrobial properties of different classes of phytochemicals --  2 Antimicrobial properties of flavonoids --  3 Antiviral properties of Phytochemicals --  4 Antimicrobial properties of organosulfur compounds --  5 Antimicrobial activities of essential oils --  6 Phytochemicals against drug-resistant microbes.-  7 Phytochemicals as anti-microbial food preservatives --  8 Dietary tannins on microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract in ruminants --  9 Manipulating ruminal biohydrogenation by the use of plants bioactive compounds --  10 Essentials oils and rumen microbial populations --  11 Saponins: effects on rumen microbial ecosystem and metabolism in the rumen --  12 Effect of plant secondary metabolites on rumen methanogens and methane emissions by ruminants --  13 Phytochemicals and gut microbial populations in non-ruminants -- Index.  .

Humans have utilized the bioactive principles of different plants for various beneficial physiological properties, including antimicrobial properties, for many centuries. However, with the availability of effective, synthetic antimicrobial drugs, interest in using medicinal plants declined during the 20th century. In recent years, the development of microbial resistance to various drugs has focused research on the use of phytochemicals as alternatives to synthetic drugs. This book presents comprehensive reviews on the antimicrobial and antiviral properties of numerous recently reported phytochemicals, and their mechanisms of antimicrobial actions. Several chapters critically discuss the beneficial as well as adverse effects of antibacterial, and stimulatory activities of dietary phytochemicals on rumen and gut microbial populations of humans and animals. Microbial adaptation and the resistance of microbes to phytochemicals are also highlighted with other chapters covering more applied aspects.