ABSTRACT
There is now overwhelming evidence that many of the so-called secondary compounds in plants contribute to the antipredator defenses of those species in which they accumulate [1], a vindication of the views of Fraenkel [2] held at a time when the "waste-product" view of secondary compounds was still common. The present intense interest both in the chemicals per se and in the overall defensive strategy of plants arises from the belief that herein lies the clue to novel and ecologically acceptable methods of crop protection.
