Natural Products in Crop Protection, Post-harvest Disease Control and Food Contamination

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 March 2022) | Viewed by 9049

Special Issue Editors

Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Interests: essential oils; bioactive phytochemicals; ethnopharmacology; antimicrobial resistance; one health; food security
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Directive 2009/128/EC establishes the sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of integrated pest management, and alternative approaches or techniques, such as nonchemical alternatives to pesticides. These measures are complementary to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, which declares that a high level of consumer protection needs to be ensured, with provisions relating to maximum levels of pesticide residues in food and feed of plant and animal origin. Pesticide residues include active substances, metabolites, and/or breakdown or reaction products of active substances currently or formerly used in plant protection products. Accordingly, maximum residue level (MRL) refers to the upper legal level of a concentration for a pesticide residue in food or feed set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and depending on good agricultural practice, and to the lowest consumer exposure necessary to protect vulnerable consumers. Of course, these issues are relevant worldwide, and not only in a European context, and every country adopts its own legislation. Mycotoxin contamination of food and feed represents a global threat for human and animal health because of their hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity in addition to being immunosuppressant agents and endocrine disruptors. Mycotoxins enter the food chain as a result of pre- and/or post-harvest fungal infections of crops and are typically found in cereals, dried fruits, nuts, spices, and some beverages such as wine, coffee, and beer. The most common mycotoxins that pose a risk to human and animal health include aflatoxins, ochratoxins, and Fusarium toxins (trichothecenes, fumonisins, and zearalenone), mainly produced by Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp. and Fusarium spp. with the role of secondary metabolites.

In this very wide context, we invite investigators to submit both original research and review articles that explore all these aspects. Potential topics include but are not limited to innovative natural products potentially exploited in crop protection and control of post-harvest disease and food contaminations.

Prof. Dr. Marcello Iriti
Dr. Sara Vitalini
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Biopesticides
  • Plant extracts
  • Bioactive phytochemicals
  • Marine organisms
  • Plant health
  • Food security
  • Food safety
  • Sustainable crop protection

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3976 KiB  
Communication
Natural Salicylaldehyde for Fungal and Pre- and Post-Emergent Weed Control
by Jong H. Kim and Kathleen L. Chan
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(8), 3749; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12083749 - 08 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2272
Abstract
A sustainable, alternative weed control strategy is developed using salicylaldehyde (SA; 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) as an active ingredient. SA is a natural, redox-active small molecule listed as a Generally Recognized As Safe food additive by the European Food Safety Authority and the United States Food [...] Read more.
A sustainable, alternative weed control strategy is developed using salicylaldehyde (SA; 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) as an active ingredient. SA is a natural, redox-active small molecule listed as a Generally Recognized As Safe food additive by the European Food Safety Authority and the United States Food and Drug Administration. The repurposing of SA determined that SA possesses both pre- and post-emergent herbicidal, fumigant activity, where the emitted SA from the source completely prevented the germination of plant seeds and/or the growth of the germinated plants. As a proof-of-concept, we developed agricultural byproducts (tree nutshell particles) as SA delivery vehicles to the soil, thus helping the growers’ sustainable byproduct recycling program, necessary for carbon sequestration. In plate assays, SA emitted from the nutshell vehicles (0.15 to 1.6 M) completely prevented the germination of six invasive or native weed seeds (monocots, dicots). In Magenta vessel assays, SA emitted from the nutshell vehicles (0.8 to 1.6 M) not only prevented the germination (pre-emergent) of Lagurus ovatus (Bunny Tails Grass) seeds but also inhibited the growth (post-emergent) of the germinated weeds. We determined further that soil covering (soil pasteurization) could be one of the practices to effectively deliver SA to the soil, whereby 1.6 M of SA emitted from the nutshell vehicles prevented the germination of the L. ovatus seeds maintained in soil trays covered with plastic tarp at 22 °C, while 0.8 M SA allowed partial (15%) germination of the weed seeds. Of note, SA also possesses an intrinsic antifungal activity that overcomes the tolerance of the stress signaling mutants of filamentous fungal pathogens (Aspergillus fumigatus, Penicillium expansum) to the phenylpyrrole fungicide fludioxonil. Environmental degradation data available in the public database indicate that, once released to the environment, SA will be broken down in the air by sunlight or microorganisms and, thus, is not built up in aquatic organisms. Altogether, SA can serve as a safe, potent pesticide (herbicidal, fungicidal) ingredient that promotes sustainable crop production by lowering the pesticide burden in fields. Full article
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11 pages, 2848 KiB  
Article
Allelopathic Interactions between Seeds of Portulaca oleracea L. and Crop Species
by Sakineh Rashidi, Ali Reza Yousefi, Nieves Goicoechea, Majid Pouryousef, Parviz Moradi, Sara Vitalini and Marcello Iriti
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3539; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11083539 - 15 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2294
Abstract
Allelopathy is described as the interference to plant growth resulting from chemical interactions among plants and other organisms mediated through the release of bioactive secondary metabolites. Since only a few studies have been reported about the role of seed allelopathy, an experiment was [...] Read more.
Allelopathy is described as the interference to plant growth resulting from chemical interactions among plants and other organisms mediated through the release of bioactive secondary metabolites. Since only a few studies have been reported about the role of seed allelopathy, an experiment was designed to evaluate the interactions among seeds of Portulaca oleracea L. and the crop species common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), onion (Allium cepa L.), sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), broad bean (Vicia faba L.), and pea (Pisum sativum L.) on seed and seedling growth parameters. The results indicated that P. oleracea seeds had a negative effect on the germination of P. vulgaris and A. cepa. Conversely, germination of P. oleracea in the presence of P. vulgaris, A. cepa, and B. vulgaris seeds was strongly reduced with a higher inhibitory effect found for the seeds of A. cepa. The highest negative effect on root and shoot length was observed in P. vulgaris. Seedling vigor of all crop species decreased in the presence of P. oleracea. Our results suggest that seeds of P. vulgaris, A. cepa, and B. vulgaris exhibited high allelopathic effects against seeds of P. oleracea and can be used as potential bio-herbicides in future screening programs. Full article
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Review

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12 pages, 699 KiB  
Review
Antimicorbial Potency of Major Functional Foods’ Essential Oils in Liquid and Vapor Phases: A Short Review
by Azam Amiri, Javad Mottaghipisheh, Fatemeh Jamshidi-Kia, Karamatollah Saeidi, Sara Vitalini and Marcello Iriti
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(22), 8103; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10228103 - 16 Nov 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3339
Abstract
Due to the increasing risk of chemical contaminations in the application of synthetic fungicides, the use of plant essential oils and extracts has recently been increased. In the present review, the antimicrobial potential of the most active plant-food essential oils in liquid and [...] Read more.
Due to the increasing risk of chemical contaminations in the application of synthetic fungicides, the use of plant essential oils and extracts has recently been increased. In the present review, the antimicrobial potential of the most active plant-food essential oils in liquid and vapor phases has been reviewed. The volatile isothiocyanates, aldehydes, and phenols, including allyl isothiocyanate, carvacrol, thymol, and eugenol, are considered to be the predominant components of essential oils, possessing significant antimicrobial activities. These components alone or in mixture can be effective. Overall, the antimicrobial activity of aroma compounds depends on the plant species, concentration, and method of application. This review provides useful information about the inhibitory application of the most common plant-foods’ essential oils in liquid and vapor phases against the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. Essential oils (EOs) are promising natural antimicrobial alternatives in food processing facilities. Although the food industry primarily uses spices and herbs to impart flavor, aroma, and pungency to foods, potent EOs represent interesting sources of natural products for food preservation. Full article
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