Industrially Important Secondary Metabolites

The most important products that have relevance to human health are produced by microorganisms during fermentation. These are formed in the idiophase of growth and are known as idiolites. The ability to produce secondary metabolites is usually lost on mutation. These compounds have a low molecular weight. However, they have diverse biological activity. With recent biogenetic tools, it has been possible to modify the biosynthetic pathway in order to enhance the yields of secondary metabolites. This chapter deals with the major secondary metabolites that can be produced from microorganisms using fermentation technology processes. The chapter also discusses the various challenges in microbial processes and provides with inducers that can be used to enhance the yield of the secondary metabolites.