Ateneo - UPO

The course is articulated into a first environmental part, and in a second part which is focused on active ingredients that can be used in medical therapies or for industrial purposes. In the first part, the effects which can be induced on plants by several environmental stresses, both abiotic and biotic ones, will be studied; as well as the possible responses towards stress conditions at cellular and molecular level.
The second part is focused on the study of some aspects relating to functional plant foods (nutraceuticals), in particular their active ingredients; the main active ingredients in medicinal plants.

Lesson slides, scientific articles.
Recommended texts:
Sanità di Toppi et al. 2018. Interazioni Piante-Ambiente, Piccin.
Smith et al. 2012. Biologia delle piante. Volume 2 – Interazioni con l’ambiente, Domesticazione. Zanichelli.

The course aims to enable the student to analyze problems related to some applicative aspects of botany, such as phytodepuration and phytoremediation, the use of biomass, textile plants, and some principles of pharmacognosy and nutraceuticals. It also aims to enable the student to produce new solutions for environmental and industrial problems, by using the appropriate acquired methods on their own.

Knowledge of cellular, molecular and plant biology. An adequate property of language and scientific knowledge.

Frontal lessons with the aid of didactic material; reading of articles from excellent journals (eg Nature) and discussion of the contents.

Final oral exam, with the dual purpose of verifying the level of knowledge and understanding of the course contents and to evaluate the autonomy of judgment, learning ability and communication skills.
In order to pass the exam, the student have to be able to present the topics in an understandable way, and to achieve a high grade, he have to demonstrate autonomy of judgment and a critical sense of the covered topics, expressing his own conclusions in a clear and logical way.
The evaluation is expressed in thirtieths (minimum grade: 18).

Effects induced on plants by abiotic environmental stresses, such as water, salt, heavy metals stress; possible responses to stress conditions, both at the organ level and at the cellular and molecular level (ROS, metallothioneins, phytochelatins, etc.). Types of pollution. Tests to evaluate the genotoxicity of soils and waters through the use of plant organisms (comet test, TUNEL test, chromosomal aberration index, micronucleus test). Phytodepuration (aquatic systems with microphytes and macrophytes, wetlands) and renaturalization of aquatic environments. Phytoremediation. Biomonitoring by plants. Biotic stress: pathosistic symbiosis. Some case studies will be illustrated in detail. The second part will be focused on the study of some aspects related to functional plant foods (nutraceuticals), the main classes of secondary metabolites in plants and their role even in the interactions with the environment; the main active principles of "medicinal" plants. Plants for food use. Outline of forensic botany. Beneficial interactions between plants and microorganisms. Biostimulants and Biofertilizers. Case studies.

The student will acquire the ability to use the provided didactic material for a critical study of the covered topics and he will be able to autonomously investigate and update issues which are related to all the topics covered during the course, by reading scientific texts and articles. In this way, he will also acquire an appropriate terminology relative to the addressed topics. In particular, he will be able to verify the applicative possibilities of plants in the environmental (bio-monitoring, phytoremediation) and industrial (biomass, textile plants) fields. It will have the tools to independently and critically carry out environmental diagnoses, to identify and define contaminated areas, and to propose solutions. It is expected to acquire the sensitivity to environmental issues, the ability to integrate himself into the social context as an expert in the detection of contaminated sites, in order to recover them and promote a sustainable use of the territory. It is also expected that some of the application possibilities of plants in the food, phytotherapeutic, forensic and archaeobotanical fields are well understood. The learning outcomes of the subject studied in this course will be useful for subsequent environmental and/or nutritional studies.