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Agronomy
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Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health
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Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 January 2022) | Viewed by 14129

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Laura Siracusa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CNR-ICB, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche-Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare, via Paolo Gaifami 18, 95126 Catania, Italy
Interests: metabolic profiling: analysis of complex matrices from natural sources, food biochemistry; study of edible plants profiles in pre-and post-harvest treatments, storage and processing; valorization of residual natural sources; structural modification of bioactive natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Rosa Palmeri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Interests: food science and technology; food industry applications; plant extracts; shelf life; food quality; microbial safety
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is a great pleasure for us to act as Guest Editors in this Special Issue covering the topic “Phytochemicals of Edible plants in Human Health”, which has been our main research focus in the last 15 years. The vegetable kingdom is characterized by a huge biodiversity, which is reflected in an enormous chemical diversity in plant secondary metabolites. To date, more than 400,000 plant species have been identified around the world, with 20,000 of them being considered suitable to act as food for humans. Plants synthetize and accumulate secondary metabolites for their survival, reproduction, and defense; research data collected in the last 50 years and more have evidenced that these molecules possess a plethora of beneficiary effects also for human health. The present Special Issue will focus on recent advances in the research of secondary metabolites from edible plants possessing activities that can help humans in restoring and maintaining rhe best health conditions. Research papers, communications, and review articles are all welcome. As the content of phytochemicals may vary depending on genetic but also on external factors such as soil, water management, cultivation, and environmental changes, we encourage papers dealing with the study, assessment, and management of the impact of agronomic practices on the accumulation of bioactive compounds in edible plants. Manuscripts concerning change in metabolic content and related bioactivity as a function of post-harvest treatments such as storage and processing are indeed very welcome. Special attention will be given to contributions covering the assessment of phytochemicals in rare and/or endemic edible plants from the Mediterranean area. Finally, given the increasing importance of the circular economy approach, Editors will focus the attention also on original research on the re-evaluation of agro-industrial wastes (composition in bioactive compounds, bioactivity, re-use).

Dr. Laura Siracusa
Prof. Dr. Rosa Palmeri
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biodiversity
  • chemical diversity in edible plants
  • human health and wellbeing promoting compounds
  • agronomic practices
  • environmental changes
  • pre and post-haverst treatments
  • endemic species
  • mediterranean area
  • valorization of agroindustrial waste and food by-products
  • functional foods
  • enzymes for improving food quality

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1543 KiB  
Article
Fruit Yield, Polyphenols, and Carotenoids in Long Shelf-Life Tomatoes in Response to Drought Stress and Rewatering
by Cristina Patanè, Sarah Siah, Alessandra Pellegrino, Salvatore L. Cosentino and Laura Siracusa
Agronomy 2021, 11(10), 1943; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11101943 - 27 Sep 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2176
Abstract
The Mediterranean long shelf-life tomato (or long storage tomato) is a plant traditionally cultivated under no irrigation in the Southern regions of Italy, whose fruits have typical high sensory and nutritional quality. However, yield levels are kept low under current cultivation conditions. In [...] Read more.
The Mediterranean long shelf-life tomato (or long storage tomato) is a plant traditionally cultivated under no irrigation in the Southern regions of Italy, whose fruits have typical high sensory and nutritional quality. However, yield levels are kept low under current cultivation conditions. In this study, the effects of repeated cycles of drying and rehydration on crop productivity and nutritional quality of fruits in terms of polyphenols and carotenoids content were assessed in long shelf-life tomatoes cultivated in a typical semi-arid area of Southern Italy. The three local Sicilian landraces ‘Custonaci’, ‘Salina’ and ‘Vulcano’, and the commercial tomato hybrid ‘Faino’ (control) were submitted to three irrigation treatments: DRY (no irrigation); IRR (long-season full irrigation); REW (drought/rewatering cycles). Total 450, 4710, and 1849 m3 ha−1, were distributed in DRY, IRR, and REW, respectively. At harvest, fruit yield, polyphenols (as total, flavonoids, and hydroxycinnamoyl quinic acids-HCQA), and carotenoids contents (lycopene and β-carotene) were measured. All cultivars benefitted from very limited irrigation in REW, raising their productivity (up to +147% in ‘Vulcano’) with respect to that of plants overstressed in DRY. Irrigation water use efficiency in REW was higher than that in IRR. Water shortage in REW led to a polyphenols content of fruits that was slightly lower (171.1 μg g−1) than that in DRY, but higher than that in IRR (116.8 μg g−1). All local landraces had greater contents (>160 μg g−1) than control (113.0 μg g−1). Under REW and DRY, the two landraces ‘Salina’ and ‘Vulcano’ produced fruits with the same polyphenols and flavonoids contents. Overall, the two water stressed treatments (DRY and REW) did not differ for HCQA content (>66 μg g−1), which was significantly higher than that in the irrigated plots (<50.55 μg g−1). Lycopene content in DRY and REW exceeded 100 μg g−1; among local types, ‘Vulcano’ exhibited the highest content (106.7 μg g−1). The β-carotene content did not change in ‘Custonaci’ and ‘Salina’, whereas in ‘Vulcano’ it was greater in DRY and REW. Only in ‘Faino’ water limitation in REW exerted a clear promoting effect on β-carotene content of fruits. The results of the present study reveal how rewatering after long-lasting drought periods is beneficial to long shelf-life tomatoes in terms of productivity. Appropriate drought cycles in REW may also help the fruits to retain high nutritional levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health)
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17 pages, 1052 KiB  
Article
Diversification and Soil Management Effects on the Quality of Organic Apricots
by Roberto Ciccoritti, Roberto Ciorba, Francesco Mitrano, Marcello Cutuli, Tiziana Amoriello, Corrado Ciaccia, Elena Testani and Danilo Ceccarelli
Agronomy 2021, 11(9), 1791; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091791 - 07 Sep 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1664
Abstract
Nutritional and commercial value of the apricot fruits depends on the interaction among several factors, including the management strategies, the environmental conditions, and the genotype. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of orchard management and pedoclimatic conditions on apricot fruit quality traits [...] Read more.
Nutritional and commercial value of the apricot fruits depends on the interaction among several factors, including the management strategies, the environmental conditions, and the genotype. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of orchard management and pedoclimatic conditions on apricot fruit quality traits (soluble solids, titratable acidity, dry matter and soluble solids and titratable acidity ratio) and phytochemical content (total phenolic content and antioxidant activity). Two apricot cultivars (Kioto* and Pieve*) were subjected to three different organic systems: (i) a standard management (BAU), (ii) an innovative diversified system with reduced tillage based on the natural cover conservation (INC) and (iii) an innovative diversified system with introduction of different cover crops (ICC), for two consecutive years (2019–2020). Overall, besides the effect of the climatic conditions, the multivariate analysis revealed the role of management systems, rather than genotype, on the quality of apricot fruits. In particular, INC soil management positively affected soluble solids, titratable acidity and dry matter parameters, especially in environments with low precipitation and high solar radiation (20.7 ± 1.7 g 100 g−1 FW, 19.9 ± 2.5 g MA 100 g−1 FW and 0.23 ± 0.2 g 100 g−1 FW respectively). In addition, the results indicate that ICC management showed the highest antioxidant values (1.45 ± 0.19 μg of Trolox equivalent (TE) 100 mg−1 FW), especially in the environment with high precipitation. This study was a useful tool for farmer to choose an effective organic system management in order to obtain fruits with high quality parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health)
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12 pages, 5370 KiB  
Article
Physicochemical Characterization and Functional Potential of Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Phaseolus coccineus L. Landrace Green Beans
by Elia Nora Aquino-Bolaños, Alma Karina Garzón-García, Jimena Esther Alba-Jiménez, José Luis Chávez-Servia, Araceli Minerva Vera-Guzmán, José Cruz Carrillo-Rodríguez and Manuel Alberto Santos-Basurto
Agronomy 2021, 11(4), 803; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040803 - 19 Apr 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3763
Abstract
The green bean is an important crop worldwide, because it is rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals, as well as bioactive compounds that provide it with important functional properties; however, the composition of many landraces is still unknown. The purpose of [...] Read more.
The green bean is an important crop worldwide, because it is rich in protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals, as well as bioactive compounds that provide it with important functional properties; however, the composition of many landraces is still unknown. The purpose of this project was to characterize Phaselus vulgaris and coccineus L. landrace green beans on pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, total sugars, color parameters, total phenols, monomeric anthocyanins, and in vitro antioxidant activity (DPPH and FRAP). Regarding the content of total sugars, differences were registered between both species, as opposed to results observed in total soluble solids. Color parameters showed higher reddish tones for P. vulgaris landraces, though P. coccineus had a higher total phenolic content, especially the reddish landraces, which correlated directly to a higher antioxidant activity by DPPH and FRAP. In the protein content, the species P. vulgaris registered the highest content. These results could contribute to a greater use and even promote the genetic improvement of the outstanding pods that serve as one of the main food products in rural regions for higher benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health)
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11 pages, 1132 KiB  
Article
Water as a Solvent of Election for Obtaining Oleuropein-Rich Extracts from Olive (Olea europaea) Leaves
by Julieta Ines Monteleone, Elisa Sperlinga, Laura Siracusa, Giovanni Spagna, Lucia Parafati, Aldo Todaro and Rosa Palmeri
Agronomy 2021, 11(3), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11030465 - 03 Mar 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2455
Abstract
Leaves from Olea europaea represent one of the main by-products of the olive oil industry, containing a plethora of bioactive compounds with several promising activities for human health. An organic solvent-free extraction method was developed for the recovery of olive leaf phenols, which [...] Read more.
Leaves from Olea europaea represent one of the main by-products of the olive oil industry, containing a plethora of bioactive compounds with several promising activities for human health. An organic solvent-free extraction method was developed for the recovery of olive leaf phenols, which obtained an extract containing oleuropein in high amounts. A comparison of various extraction media is reported, together with the total phenolic content, DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) content, ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity), and polyphenol oxidase activity of the corresponding extracts. The polyphenol profiles and content of the most representative extracts have also been studied. Extraction solvent and temperature significantly influenced the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of the extracts, with hot water representing the solvent of election for the extraction of bioactive compounds from this matrix. All the extracts obtained showed reasonably high total phenol content (TPC) and good DPPH radical scavenging activity; among them, the water extract is characterized by desirable traits and could be used for many industrial applications and human consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health)
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16 pages, 6124 KiB  
Article
Pomegranate Cultivation in Mediterranean Climate: Plant Adaptation and Fruit Quality of ‘Mollar de Elche’ and ‘Wonderful’ Cultivars
by Ilenia Tinebra, Dario Scuderi, Giuseppe Sortino, Agata Mazzaglia and Vittorio Farina
Agronomy 2021, 11(1), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11010156 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3121
Abstract
Two pomegranate cultivars, Mollar de Elche, native to Spain, and Wonderful, the most widely cultivated pomegranate variety in the world, were studied in a commercial orchard in Sicily, and their phenological behavior was compared. During the development of the fruit, their dimensional growth [...] Read more.
Two pomegranate cultivars, Mollar de Elche, native to Spain, and Wonderful, the most widely cultivated pomegranate variety in the world, were studied in a commercial orchard in Sicily, and their phenological behavior was compared. During the development of the fruit, their dimensional growth was monitored, and after harvest, physicochemical and sensory analyses were carried out to highlight the differences between fruit of the two cultivars. Results showed that Mollar de Elche fruit require less time from flowering to fruit maturity, resulting in an earlier harvest, which was due also to a higher relative growth rate of the fruit’s diameters. On the other hand, physicochemical analyses confirmed that Wonderful is the variety that is most appealing for fresh produce consumers due to its intense coloring. However, Mollar de Elche showed economically desirable characteristics such as a good softness of the seed. Moreover, sensory analysis showed that fruit of the cv. Mollar de Elche was found to have a sweeter taste of both arils and juice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phytochemicals of Edible Plants in Human Health)
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