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Terpenoids are a large class of natural secondary plant metabolites which are highly diverse in structure, formed from isoprene units (C-5), associated with a wide range of biological properties, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, anticancer, antimetastatic, antiangiogenesis, and apoptosis induction, and are considered for potential application in the food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and medical industries. In plants, terpenoids exert a variety of basic functions in growth and development. This review gives an overview, highlighting the current knowledge of terpenoids and recent advances in our understanding of the organization, regulation, and diversification of core and specialized terpenoid metabolic pathways and addressing the most important functions of volatile and non-volatile specialized terpenoid metabolites in plants. A comprehensive description of different aspects of plant-derived terpenoids as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds, their biosynthetic pathway, the several biological properties attributed to these secondary metabolites associated with health-promoting effects, and their potential industrial applications in several fields will be provided, and emerging and green extraction methods will also be discussed. In addition, future research perspectives within this framework will be highlighted. Literature selection was carried out using the National Library of Medicine, PubMed, and international reference data for the period from 2010 to 2024 using the keyword "terpenoids". A total of 177,633 published papers were found, of which 196 original and review papers were included in this review according to the criteria of their scientific reliability, their completeness, and their relevance to the theme considered.

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Neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) such as Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's (PD) are on the rise, robbing people of their memories and independence. While risk factors such as age and genetics play an important role, exciting studies suggest that a diet rich in foods from plant origin may offer a line of defense. These kinds of foods, namely fruits and vegetables, are packed with a plethora of powerful bioactive secondary metabolites (SBMs), including terpenoids, polyphenols, glucosinolates, phytosterols and capsaicinoids, which exhibit a wide range of biological activities including antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-Alzheimer's, antiproliferative, and antimicrobial properties, associated with preventive effects in the development of chronic diseases mediated by oxidative stress such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and NDDs. This review explores the potential of SBMs as theravention agents (metabolites with therapeutic and preventive action) against NDDs. By understanding the science behind plant-based prevention, we may be able to develop new strategies to promote brain health and prevent the rise in NDDs. The proposed review stands out by emphasizing the integration of multiple SBMs in plant-based foods and their potential in preventing NDDs. Previous research has often focused on individual compounds or specific foods, but this review aims to present a comprehensive fingerprint of how a diet rich in various SBMs can synergistically contribute to brain health. The risk factors related to NDD development and the diagnostic process, in addition to some examples of food-related products and medicinal plants that significantly reduce the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and ß-site amyloid precursor protein (APP) cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), are highlighted.

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Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the world. Early diagnosis and treatment increase the chances of preserving vision. However, despite advances in techniques for the functional and structural assessment of the retina, specialists still encounter many challenges, in part due to the different presentations of the standard optic nerve head (ONH) in the population, the lack of explicit references that define the limits of glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON), specialist experience, and the quality of patients' responses to some ancillary exams. Computer vision uses deep learning (DL) methodologies, successfully applied to assist in the diagnosis and progression of GON, with the potential to provide objective references for classification, avoiding possible biases in experts' decisions. To this end, studies have used color fundus photographs (CFPs), functional exams such as visual field (VF), and structural exams such as optical coherence tomography (OCT). However, it is still necessary to know the minimum limits of detection of GON characteristics performed through these methodologies. This study analyzes the use of deep learning (DL) methodologies in the various stages of glaucoma screening compared to the clinic to reduce the costs of GON assessment and the work carried out by specialists, to improve the speed of diagnosis, and to homogenize opinions. It concludes that the DL methodologies used in automated glaucoma screening can bring more robust results closer to reality.

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[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21196.].

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Consumers in developed and Western European countries are becoming more aware of the impact of food on their health, and they demand clear, transparent, and reliable information from the food industry about the products they consume. They recognise that food safety risks are often due to the unexpected presence of contaminants throughout the food supply chain. Among these, mycotoxins produced by food-infecting fungi, endogenous toxins from certain plants and organisms, pesticides, and other drugs used excessively during farming and food production, which lead to their contamination and accumulation in foodstuffs, are the main causes of concern. In this context, the goals of this review are to provide a comprehensive overview of the presence of toxic molecules reported in foodstuffs since 2020 through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) portal and use chromatography to address this challenge. Overall, natural toxins, environmental pollutants, and food-processing contaminants are the most frequently reported toxic molecules, and liquid chromatography and gas chromatography are the most reliable approaches for their control. However, faster, simpler, and more powerful analytical procedures are necessary to cope with the growing pressures on the food chain supply.

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Designing and manufacturing functional bioactive ingredients and pharmaceuticals have grown worldwide. Consumers demand for safe ingredients and concerns over harmful synthetic additives have prompted food manufacturers to seek safer and sustainable alternative solutions. In recent years the preference by consumers to natural bioactive agents over synthetic compounds increased exponentially, and consequently, naturally derived phytochemicals and bioactive compounds, with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, becoming essential in food packaging field. In response to societal needs, packaging needs to be developed based on sustainable manufacturing practices, marketing strategies, consumer behaviour, environmental concerns, and the emergence of new technologies, particularly bio- and nanotechnology. This critical systematic review assessed the role of antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds from natural resources in food packaging and consumer behaviour patterns in relation to phytochemical and biologically active substances used in the development of food packaging. The use of phytochemicals and bioactive compounds inside packaging materials used in food industry could generate unpleasant odours derived from the diffusion of the most volatile compounds from the packaging material to the food and food environment. These consumer concerns must be addressed to understand minimum concentrations that will not affect consumer sensory and aroma negative perceptions. The research articles were carefully chosen and selected by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines.

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The huge amount of grape pomace (GP) generated every year worldwide, particularly in Europe, creates negative impacts at the economic and environmental levels. As far as we know, scarce research has been done on the volatilomic fingerprint of GP. To meet consumer demand for healthy foods, there is a growing interest in the characterization of particular volatile organic metabolites (VOMS) in GP that can be used for industrial applications, including the food industry. In this study, the volatilomic fingerprint of GP obtained from different Vitis vinifera L. grapes was established by solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), to explore the properties of most dominant VOMs in a context of its application on marketable products. A total of 52 VOMs belonging to different chemical families were identified. Alcohols, carbonyl compounds, and esters, are the most dominant, representing 38.8, 29.3, and 24.2% of the total volatile profile of the investigated GP, respectively. Esters (e.g., isoamyl acetate, hexyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate) and alcohols (e.g., 3-methyl butan-2-ol, hexan-1-ol) can be used as flavoring agents with potential use in the food industry, and in the cosmetic industry, for fragrances production. In addition, the identified terpenoids (e.g., menthol, ylangene, limonene) exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer, biological properties, among others, boosting their potential application in the pharmaceutical industry. The obtained results revealed the potential of some VOMs from GP to replace synthetic antioxidants, colorants, and antimicrobials used in the food industry, and in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry, meeting the increasing consumer demand for natural alternative compounds.

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The fortified wines that originated in Mediterranean countries have, in common, a high alcohol content to increase their shelf-life during long journeys to northern Europe and the American continent. Nowadays, the world's better-known wines, including Marsala, Madeira, Port, and Sherry, due to their high alcoholic content, sweet taste, and intense aromatic profile, are designated as dessert wines and sometimes served as aperitifs. This review gives an overview of the traditional vinification process, including the microbiota and autochthonous yeast, as well as the regulatory aspects of the main Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish fortified wines. The winemaking process is essential to defining the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that characterize the aroma of each fortified wine, giving them an organoleptic fingerprint and "terroir" characteristics. The various volatile and odorous compounds found in fortified wines during the oxidative aging are discussed in the last part of this review.

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Food contamination with pesticides poses significant risks to consumer safety and undermines confidence in food supply chains. Detecting pesticides in food samples is a challenging task that requires efficient extraction techniques. This study aims to compare and validate two microextraction techniques, µSPEed and µQuEChERS-dSPE, for the simultaneous extraction of eight pesticides (paraquat, thiabendazole, asulam, picloram, ametryn, atrazine, linuron, and cymoxanil) from wastewater samples. A good analytical performance was obtained for both methodologies, with selectivity, linearity in the range 0.5-150 mg L-1 with coefficients of determination up to 0.9979, limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) ranging from 0.02 to 0.05 mg L-1 and from 0.06 to 0.17 mg L-1, respectively, precision below 14.7 mg L-1, and recoveries from wastewater samples in the range of 66.1-99.9%. The developed methodologies are simpler, faster, and require less sample and solvent volumes than conventional methodologies, having a lower impact on the environment. Nevertheless, the µSPEed approach was found to be more efficient, easier to perform, and with a higher greener profile. This study highlights the potential of microextraction techniques for the analysis of pesticide residues in food and environmental samples. Overall, it presents a fast and efficient method for the analysis of pesticides in wastewater samples, which can be useful for monitoring and controlling pesticide contamination in the environment.

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Atropine and scopolamine belong to the tropane alkaloid (TA) family of natural toxins. They can contaminate teas and herbal teas and appear in infusions. Therefore, this study focused on analyzing atropine and scopolamine in 33 samples of tea and herbal tea infusions purchased in Spain and Portugal to determine the presence of these compounds in infusions brewed at 97 °C for 5 min. A rapid microextraction technique (µSPEed®) followed by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the selected TAs. The results showed that 64% of the analyzed samples were contaminated by one or both toxins. White and green teas were generally more contaminated than black and other herbal teas. Of the 21 contaminated samples, 15 had concentrations above the maximum limit for liquid herbal infusions (0.2 ng/mL) set by Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/1408. In addition, the effects of heating conditions (time and temperature) on atropine and scopolamine standards and naturally contaminated samples of white, green, and black teas were evaluated. The results showed that at the concentrations studied (0.2 and 4 ng/mL), there was no degradation in the standard solutions. Brewing with boiling water (decoction) for 5 and 10 min allowed for higher extraction of TAs from dry tea to infusion water.

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Polystyrene (PS) is a crucial material for modern plastic manufacturers, but its widespread use and direct discard in the environment severely affect the food chain. This review provides a detailed study on the impact of PS microplastics (PS-MPs) on the food chain and the environment, including information on their mechanism, degradation process, and toxicity. The accumulation of PS-MPs in organisms' different organs leads to various adverse reactions, such as reduced body weight, premature deaths, pulmonary diseases, neurotoxicity, transgenerational issues, oxidative stress, metabolic alterations, ecotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and other dysfunctions. These consequences affect diverse elements in the food chain, spanning from aquatic species to mammals and humans. The review also addresses the need for sustainable plastic waste management policies and technological developments to prevent the adverse impacts of PS-MPs on the food chain. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of developing a precise, flexible, and effective methodology for extracting and quantifying PS-MPs in food, considering their characteristics like particle size, polymer types, and forms. While several studies have focused on the toxicity of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) in aquatic species, further investigation is required to understand the mechanisms by which they are transferred across multiple trophic levels. Therefore, this article serves as the first comprehensive review, examining the mechanism, degradation process, and toxicity of PS-MPs. It presents an analysis of the current research landscape of PS-MPs in the global food chain, providing insights for future researchers and governing organizations to adopt better approaches to managing PS-MPs and preventing their adverse impacts on the food chain. As far as we know this is the first article on this specific and impactant topic.

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The overuse of antibiotics in the healthcare, veterinary, and agricultural industries has led to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), resulting in significant economic losses worldwide and a growing healthcare problem that urgently needs to be solved. Plants produce a variety of secondary metabolites, making them an area of interest in the search for new phytochemicals to cope with AMR. A great part of agri-food waste is of plant origin, constituting a promising source of valuable compounds with different bioactivities, including those against antimicrobial resistance. Many types of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids, tocopherols, glucosinolates, and phenolic compounds, are widely present in plant by-products, such as citrus peels, tomato waste, and wine pomace. Unveiling these and other bioactive compounds is therefore very relevant and could be an important and sustainable form of agri-food waste valorisation, adding profit for local economies and mitigating the negative impact of these wastes' decomposition on the environment. This review will focus on the potential of agri-food waste from a plant origin as a source of phytochemicals with antibacterial activity for global health benefits against AMR.

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The aim of the current study was to provide a useful platform to identify characteristic molecular markers related to the authenticity of Italian fortified wines. For this purpose, the volatilomic fingerprint of the most popular Italian fortified wines was established using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). Several volatile organic compounds (VOCs), belonging with distinct chemical groups, were identified, ten of which are common to all the analyzed fortified Italian wines. Terpenoids were the most abundant chemical group in Campari bitter wines due to limonene's high contribution to the total volatilomic fingerprint, whereas for Marsala wines, alcohols and esters were the most predominant chemical groups. The fortified Italian wines VOCs network demonstrated that the furanic compounds 2-furfural, ethyl furoate, and 5-methyl-2-furfural, constitute potential molecular markers of Marsala wines, while the terpenoids nerol, α-terpeniol, limonene, and menthone isomers, are characteristic of Vermouth wines. In addition, butanediol was detected only in Barolo wines, and ß-phellandrene and ß-myrcene only in Campari wines. The obtained data reveal an adequate tool to establish the authenticity and genuineness of Italian fortified wines, and at the same time constitute a valuable contribution to identify potential cases of fraud or adulteration to which they are subject, due to the high commercial value associated with these wines. In addition, they contribute to the deepening of scientific knowledge that supports its valorization and guarantee of quality and safety for consumers.

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Prostate cancer (PCa) continues to be the second most common malignant tumour and the main cause of oncological death in men. Investigating endogenous volatile organic metabolites (VOMs) produced by various metabolic pathways is emerging as a novel, effective, and non-invasive source of information to establish the volatilomic biosignature of PCa. In this study, headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS) was used to establish the urine volatilomic profile of PCa and identify VOMs that can discriminate between the two investigated groups. This non-invasive approach was applied to oncological patients (PCa group, n = 26) and cancer-free individuals (control group, n = 30), retrieving a total of 147 VOMs from various chemical families. This included terpenes, norisoprenoid, sesquiterpenes, phenolic, sulphur and furanic compounds, ketones, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, carboxylic acid, benzene and naphthalene derivatives, hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic hydrocarbons. The data matrix was subjected to multivariate analysis, namely partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Accordingly, this analysis showed that the group under study presented different volatomic profiles and suggested potential PCa biomarkers. Nevertheless, a larger cohort of samples is required to boost the predictability and accuracy of the statistical models developed.

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Entomotherapy, the use of insects for medicinal purposes, has been practised for centuries in many countries around the world. More than 2100 edible insect species are eaten by humans, but little is known about the possibility of using these insects as a promising alternative to traditional pharmaceuticals for treating diseases. This review offers a fundamental understanding of the therapeutic applications of insects and how they might be used in medicine. In this review, 235 insect species from 15 orders are reported to be used as medicine. Hymenoptera contains the largest medicinal insect species, followed by Coleoptera, Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, and Blattodea. Scientists have examined and validated the potential uses of insects along with their products and by-products in treating various diseases, and records show that they are primarily used to treat digestive and skin disorders. Insects are known to be rich sources of bioactive compounds, explaining their therapeutic features such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral, and so on. Challenges associated with the consumption of insects (entomophagy) and their therapeutic uses include regulation barriers and consumer acceptance. Moreover, the overexploitation of medicinal insects in their natural habitat has led to a population crisis, thus necessitating the investigation and development of their mass-rearing procedure. Lastly, this review suggests potential directions for developing insects used in medicine and offers advice for scientists interested in entomotherapy. In future, entomotherapy may become a sustainable and cost-effective solution for treating various ailments and has the potential to revolutionize modern medicine.

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The effect of Japanese beetles (P. japonica) on critical quality indicators of Nebbiolo and Erbaluce grapes, specifically on their phenolic and volatile composition, was assessed. Adult beetle symptoms include extended skeletonization of leaves. Leaves are frequently left with their mid-vein intact but, when severely damaged, quickly turn brown. However, the plant tends to recover by generating a new leaf apparatus and the grapes reach ripeness. It emerged that the phenolic content of grapes produced by plants attacked by P. japonica (396 and 550 mg/kg, Nebbiolo and Erbaluce respectively) was generally higher when compared to healthy plants (266 and 188 mg/kg, Nebbiolo and Erbaluce respectively). Similarly, in the (red) Nebbiolo cultivar, the anthocyanin content was significantly lower in grapes produced with healthy plants. The influence of P. japonica on the volatile composition of Nebbiolo and Erbaluce grapes showed a total volatile fraction of affected grapes (433 and 439 µg/kg, respectively) significantly higher than the one related to healthy grapes (391 and 386 µg/kg, respectively). In response to the attack by P. japonica the plant significantly increases the content of some volatile compounds such as hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, 1-hexanol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol and phenyl ethyl alcohol.

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Aroma compounds play a key role in wine quality due to their importance in wine aroma. The aim of the present study is to investigate the influence of cold pre-fermentative maceration (CPM) treatment on aromatic and sensory properties of white wines from four grape varieties (Tempranillo Blanco, Maturana Blanca, Viura and Garnacha Blanca) during two consecutive years (2019 and 2020). A total of 62 aroma compounds belonging to different chemical families were identified using headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). CPM treatment enhanced the total relative concentration of alcohols, esters and acids compared to control wines. Regarding sensorial properties, esters made the greatest contribution to the studied white wines, mainly through the development of floral and fruity notes. On the other hand, CPM treatment did not significantly influence the total relative concentration of terpenoids, and different trends were observed according to grape variety and vintage. The obtained results showed differences in the wine's aromatic complexity according to the grape variety, the vintage and the treatment applied and suggested that CPM treatment could represent a suitable approach to manipulate the aromatic profile and enhance the aromatic quality and complexity of wine.

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Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently occurring type of malignant tumor and a leading cause of oncological death in men. PCa is very heterogeneous in terms of grade, phenotypes, and genetics, displaying complex features. This tumor often has indolent growth, not compromising the patient's quality of life, while its more aggressive forms can manifest rapid growth with progression to adjacent organs and spread to lymph nodes and bones. Nevertheless, the overtreatment of PCa patients leads to important physical, mental, and economic burdens, which can be avoided with careful monitoring. Early detection, even in the cases of locally advanced and metastatic tumors, provides a higher chance of cure, and patients can thus go through less aggressive treatments with fewer side effects. Furthermore, it is important to offer knowledge about how modifiable risk factors can be an effective method for reducing cancer risk. Innovations in PCa diagnostics and therapy are still required to overcome some of the limitations of the current screening techniques, in terms of specificity and sensitivity. In this context, this review provides a brief overview of PCa statistics, reporting its incidence and mortality rates worldwide, risk factors, and emerging screening strategies.

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Anthocyanins are widespread and biologically active water-soluble phenolic pigments responsible for a wide range of vivid colours, from red (acidic conditions) to purplish blue (basic conditions), present in fruits, vegetables, and coloured grains. The pigments' stability and colours are influenced mainly by pH but also by structure, temperature, and light. The colour-stabilizing mechanisms of plants are determined by inter- and intramolecular co-pigmentation and metal complexation, driven by van der Waals, π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and metal-ligand interactions. This group of flavonoids is well-known to have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which explains the biological effects associated with them. Therefore, this review provides an overview of the role of anthocyanins as natural colorants, showing they are less harmful than conventional colorants, with several technological potential applications in different industrial fields, namely in the textile and food industries, as well as in the development of photosensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells, as new photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy, pharmaceuticals, and in the cosmetic industry, mainly on the formulation of skin care formulations, sunscreen filters, nail colorants, skin & hair cleansing products, amongst others. In addition, we will unveil some of the latest studies about the health benefits of anthocyanins, mainly focusing on the protection against the most prevalent human diseases mediated by oxidative stress, namely cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, and diabetes. The contribution of anthocyanins to visual health is also very relevant and will be briefly explored.

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