Plant-herbivore interactions are crucial to life on Earth, and central to this relationship are plant defense compounds. Plant defense compounds compose a wide variety of carbon and nitrogen containing compounds including: phenolics, alkaloids, and glycosides, which are broadly classified as plant secondary metabolites. Many studies have focused on how different levels of plant defense compounds in artificial diets affect both generalist and specialist herbivores. The focus of my research fits into this broad research to understand how specifically rutin, chlorogenic acid, and nicotine affect a specialist herbivore Manduca sexta.