Hormetic Effects of Phytochemicals with Anti-Ageing Properties.

In the fields of biology and medicine, hormesis is defined as the adaptive response of cells and organisms to moderate and usually intermittent stress. Examples include radiation, pharmaceutical agents, as well as dietary and lifestyle factors such as calorie restriction and physical exercise. However, in the present chapter, we will focus on the hormetic role of certain phytochemicals, compounds that naturally occur in plants, playing roles in plant colour, flavour, and disease resistance, with nutraceutical properties. Indeed, these compounds exhibit health-promoting, disease-preventing, or medicinal properties, mostly through a hormetic mechanism.