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Agronomy
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Exploring Herbs as Source of Phytochemicals: New Perspectives in Horticulture
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Exploring Herbs as Source of Phytochemicals: New Perspectives in Horticulture

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 6718

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Valentina Scariot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy
Interests: ornamental horticulture; floriculture; medicinal and aromatic plants; functional quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Herbs possess numerous functional properties attributable to bioactive compounds such as vitamins and polyphenols, which have antioxidant activity, as well as volatile compounds, that impart their characteristic scent and aroma.

Phytochemicals are numerous, and their discovery and quantification are still ongoing. In addition, phytochemicals are present in herbs in variable amounts depending on plant species, environmental conditions, and cultivation and processing techniques.

The study of the phytochemical profiles of both wild and cultivated herbs can disclose their potential as a source of bioactive molecules, presenting new challenges and perspectives for horticulture production and the whole supply chain.

This Special Issue is open to papers that deal with the phytochemical composition of herbs and the optimization of their cultivation, post-harvest, and primary processing methods to widen the opportunities of the horticulture sector and foster its development.

Prof. Valentina Scariot
Guest Editor

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

  • agrobiodiversity
  • medicinal and aromatic plants
  • forgotten or underused species
  • bioactive compounds
  • mineral elements
  • vitamins
  • antioxidants
  • agronomic tools
  • post-harvest
  • processing techniques

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1493 KiB  
Article
Preliminary Observations on Viola calcarata as a Source of Bioactive Compounds: Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical Profile of Two Alpine Subspecies
by Nicole Mélanie Falla, Sonia Demasi, Matteo Caser and Valentina Scariot
Agronomy 2021, 11(11), 2241; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11112241 - 5 Nov 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2000
Abstract
Viola L. is a botanical genus with approximately 525 to 620 species, spread worldwide. Several violets are traditionally used as edible flowers and have been recently proved to be a source of bioactive compounds, including flavonols, flavanols, benzoic acids, and cinnamic acids. However, [...] Read more.
Viola L. is a botanical genus with approximately 525 to 620 species, spread worldwide. Several violets are traditionally used as edible flowers and have been recently proved to be a source of bioactive compounds, including flavonols, flavanols, benzoic acids, and cinnamic acids. However, no information is available about the phytochemical profile of the Viola calcarata complex, which is found in the Alpine environment. Thus, the present research aimed to assess the antioxidant activity and the presence of bioactive compounds (anthocyanins and phenolic compounds) in V. calcarata subspecies, to promote their biodiversity and use in the agrifood sector. Two V. calcarata subspecies were chosen, with different colors: V. calcarata subspecies calcarata L., with white (CW), yellow (CY), and violet flowers (CV); and V. calcarata subspecies villarsiana (Roem & Schult.) Merxm., with bicolor (violet and yellow—VB) flowers. CY showed a significantly higher phenolic content (1116.43 mg GAE 100 g−1 FW) than the other subspecies, while CV showed higher values in anthocyanins content (44.73 mg C3G 100 g−1 FW). Regarding the antioxidant activity, CW (215.07 mmol Fe2+ kg−1 FW, 99.53 µmol TE g−1 FW, and 32.30 µmol TE g−1 FW for FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS, respectively) and VB (217.33 mmol Fe2+ kg−1 FW, 90.97 µmol TE g−1 FW, and 29.17 µmol TE g−1 FW for FRAP, DPPH, and ABTS, respectively) showed the highest values. Through HPLC, a total of eight phenolic compounds were quantitatively identified among the two subspecies, including flavonols, cinnamic acids, benzoic acids, catechins, and vitamin C. Though different in their composition, the two subspecies are rich in phenolic compounds, highlighting the importance of preserving their biodiversity and their potential use in the agrifood sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Herbs as Source of Phytochemicals: New Perspectives in Horticulture)
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23 pages, 6789 KiB  
Article
Discovery of Anthocyanin Biosynthetic Pathway in Cosmos caudatus Kunth. Using Omics Analysis
by Darvien Gunasekaran, Noor Idayu Tahir, Muhamad Afiq Akbar, Syazwani Basir, Ismanizan Ismail, Noraini Talip, Ahmad Bazli Ramzi, Syarul Nataqain Baharum, Normah Mohd Noor and Hamidun Bunawan
Agronomy 2021, 11(4), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11040661 - 31 Mar 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3942
Abstract
Cosmos caudatus Kunth. or “king’s salad” contains high values of nutritional compounds that act as health promoters. Although widely consumed for its medicinal value, information on phytochemical contents and their biosynthesis in the species is scarce. Among the interesting compounds are the anthocyanins [...] Read more.
Cosmos caudatus Kunth. or “king’s salad” contains high values of nutritional compounds that act as health promoters. Although widely consumed for its medicinal value, information on phytochemical contents and their biosynthesis in the species is scarce. Among the interesting compounds are the anthocyanins that possess a dual role; an antioxidant and natural colorant. A complete anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in C. caudatus was elucidated using transcriptomics, metabolomics, and anatomical approaches in this study. The transcriptomic analysis revealed genes encoding enzymes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway and the genes encoding the transcription factors relevant to the latter pathway. A total of 11 anthocyanins of cyanidin, pelargonidin, and delphinidin derivatives that are significantly abundant in the species were identified, correlating with the anthocyanin mainstream gene pathway. The occurrence of anthocyanin was further validated by light microscopy. Anthocyanin pigments in C. caudatus were detected at the epidermal layer of the leaf, stem, and flower, and at the cortex of stem and root. To our knowledge, this is the first work that has delineated the complete anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway in Malaysia’s underutilized plant, C. caudatus Kunth. This study correlated multi-omics data that will help integrate systems biology and synthetic biology, for a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanism and characterization of the anthocyanin biosynthesis using heterologous expression studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Herbs as Source of Phytochemicals: New Perspectives in Horticulture)
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