Talk:Phytoncide

This needs some Context

The term phytoncide does not seem to appear in the index of a current plant physiology book--although it has an entire chapter on secondary plant compounds. I'm concerned that the term is somewhat out of date and only used in the alternative health community. This is fine but it would be good to know what plant physiologists call this group of molecules or how it fits in with other secondary plant compounds. Are they chemically distinct? Terpenes? Phenols? Only found in wood, as implied by the only current reference?

I am not an expert but did take a graduate level course in secondary plant compounds and don't remember discussing phytoncides. Eperotao (talk) 20:22, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

Oddly enough, theres only one place where I heard it. I want to put this in the article, about popular culture, but cant actually link to it: In Pokemon Black and White, a person in the Pinwheel Forest asks "Have you heard of phytoncides? I don't really understand, but I heard that the reason forests make you feel good is phytoncides!" I cant give citations either cause it is in a video game. 74.132.249.206 (talk) 21:29, 15 October 2011 (UTC)

In South Korea, it is believed that phytoncides in forests make one feel good. The Korea word for it, found even in modest e-dictionaries, is the cognate/loan-word. Some research gives support to its beneficial effects: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20074458. enbita.en.ec21.com/What_is_Phytoncide--509321_509324.html 211.225.33.104 (talk) 11:11, 29 March 2014 (UTC)

This does seem to be a term primarily used as an English translation of various (synonymous?) terms in East Asian languages to refer to a category of plant-derived substances used generally in traditional/alternative medicine, although there have been some peer-reviewed scientific study of specific substances considered phytoncides, as evidenced by the references section (which needs to be edited and incorporated into the body of the article as inline citations, which I would do but I just don't have the time or interest, sorry. The thing I find the most strange is the definition of phytoncides as allelochemic compounds, which would suggest that they are beneficial to the plant from which they originate and detrimental to the organism exposed to them. I sort of understand how that could be the case if you interpret the receiver as whatever bacterium or virus, etc. causing some ailment in a person that the phytoncide is meant to target and eliminate, but that seems like quite a stretch. It seems (assuming for the sake of argument that these compounds do actually have medicinal properties in humans) that its more the case that phytoncides are a subset of semiochemicals that developed in the plant in question as a defensive mechanism and any beneficial effects they might have on humans or detrimental effects on human pathogens are more or less a side effect. I mean all of this is just conjecture on my part based on reading a few abstracts, but at the very least based on the current descriptions of these terms on Wikipedia itself, phytoncides are certainly not exclusively allelochemic if they positively benefit the recipient (or target, or whatever). Andyharbor (talk) 02:26, 14 January 2021 (UTC)

As reducer of cortisol and adrenaline.

Numerous studies have shown this substance lowers stress levels in humans by reducing both cortisol and adrenaline. The Japanese have a term called 'Forest Bath'

(can't remember the Japanese term) to describe this chemical effect. It's pretty widely understood now, so if anyone wants to include this...... Hanoi Road (talk) 14:33, 26 December 2019 (UTC)