**Preface to "Recent Advances in Natural Products Chemistry Related to Metabolites and Microbiomes"**

The characterization of molecules, metabolomes, and related microbiomes in recent years has paved the way for the identification of novel secondary metabolites with potential for agricultural applications both directly (increased yield and nutritional value of crops) and indirectly (effects on the environment, agricultural practices, etc.). The abundance and variety of metabolites in plant and animal extracts makes challenging the isolation of single secondary bioactive metabolites whose synergism with other biomolecules is particularly attractive in the field of natural products with health-promoting properties or active molecules for plant protection. In this context, it is now recognized that future agricultural production will be characterized by sustainable systems that produce food (and/or feed) with nutritional and functional properties suitable for sustaining human health and wellbeing.

In this Special Issue, aspects related to the production of bioactive microbial metabolites, characterization of plant metabolomes, and studies of the metabolome profiles of animal products have been explored.

We are confident that this book will highlight the need for natural products chemistry research related to metabolites and microbiomes, serving the scientific community and also being useful to teachers, researchers, and students.

We are grateful to the authors, to the colleagues that have reviewed the submitted articles, to the publisher MDPI, and to all the editorial staff of this journal.

> **Francesco Vinale, Maria Luisa Balestrieri** *Editors*
