Affiliations 

  • 1 Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5 Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan ; School of Mechatronic Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Ulu Pauh, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia
  • 2 Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5 Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
  • 3 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempaku, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580, Japan
  • 4 Graduate School of Biological Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5 Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
Biomed Res Int, 2015;2015:139254.
PMID: 26495281 DOI: 10.1155/2015/139254

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are small molecules that exhibit high vapor pressure under ambient conditions and have low boiling points. Although VOCs contribute only a small proportion of the total metabolites produced by living organisms, they play an important role in chemical ecology specifically in the biological interactions between organisms and ecosystems. VOCs are also important in the health care field as they are presently used as a biomarker to detect various human diseases. Information on VOCs is scattered in the literature until now; however, there is still no available database describing VOCs and their biological activities. To attain this purpose, we have developed KNApSAcK Metabolite Ecology Database, which contains the information on the relationships between VOCs and their emitting organisms. The KNApSAcK Metabolite Ecology is also linked with the KNApSAcK Core and KNApSAcK Metabolite Activity Database to provide further information on the metabolites and their biological activities. The VOC database can be accessed online.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.