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Naturally occurring phenols
Group of chemical compounds / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the class of organic compounds containing a phenol group. For the parent compound, see Phenol.
In biochemistry, naturally occurring phenols are natural products containing at least one phenol functional group.[1][2][3] Phenolic compounds are produced by plants and microorganisms.[4] Organisms sometimes synthesize phenolic compounds in response to ecological pressures such as pathogen and insect attack, UV radiation and wounding.[5] As they are present in food consumed in human diets and in plants used in traditional medicine of several cultures, their role in human health and disease is a subject of research.[1][5][6][7]: 104 Some phenols are germicidal and are used in formulating disinfectants.
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