10th Anniversary of Plants—Recent Advances and Perspectives is a scientific paper collection specially published on the anniversary of Plants. Covering all major areas of plant science, it is a valuable guide through current achievements and future discoveries in this scientific field.

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10th Anniversary of Plants—Recent Advances and Perspectives is a scientific paper collection specially published on the anniversary of Plants. Covering all major areas of plant science, it is a valuable guide through current achievements and future discoveries in this scientific field.

Listed by Unglue.it.

10th Anniversary of Plants—Recent Advances and Perspectives is a scientific paper collection specially published on the anniversary of Plants. Covering all major areas of plant science, it is a valuable guide through current achievements and future discoveries in this scientific field.

Listed by Unglue.it.

Horticultural crop yield and quality depend on genotype, environmental conditions, and production management. In particular, adverse environmental conditions may greatly affect crop performance, reducing crop yield by 50%–70%. Abiotic stresses such as cold, heat, drought, flooding, salinity, nutrient deficiency, and ultraviolet radiation affect multiple physiological and biochemical mechanisms in plants as they attempt to cope with the stress conditions. However, different crop species can have different sensitivities or tolerances to specific abiotic stresses. Tolerant plants may activate different strategies to adapt to or avoid the negative effect of abiotic stresses. At the physiological level, photosynthetic activity and light-use efficiency of plants may be modulated to enhance tolerance against the stress. At the biochemical level, several antioxidant systems may be activated, and many enzymes may produce stress-related metabolites to help avoid cellular damage, including compounds such as proline, glycine betaine, and amino acids. Within each crop species there is a wide variability of tolerance to abiotic stresses, and some wild relatives may carry useful traits for enhancing the tolerance to abiotic stresses in their progeny through either traditional or biotechnological breeding. The research papers and reviews presented in this book provide an update of the scientific knowledge of crop interactions with abiotic stresses.

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In the last few decades, near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has distinguished itself as one of the most rapidly advancing spectroscopic techniques. Mainly known as an analytical tool useful for sample characterization and content quantification, NIR spectroscopy is essential in various other fields, e.g. NIR imaging techniques in biophotonics, medical applications or used for characterization of food products. Its contribution in basic science and physical chemistry should be noted as well, e.g. in exploration of the nature of molecular vibrations or intermolecular interactions. One of the current development trends involves the miniaturization and simplification of instrumentation, creating prospects for the spread of NIR spectrometers at a consumer level in the form of smartphone attachments—a breakthrough not yet accomplished by any other analytical technique. A growing diversity in the related methods and applications has led to a dispersion of these contributions among disparate scientific communities. The aim of this Special Issue was to bring together the communities that may perceive NIR spectroscopy from different perspectives. It resulted in 30 contributions presenting the latest advances in the methodologies essential in near-infrared spectroscopy in a variety of applications.

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Plant stress could be defined as any unfavorable condition or substance that can affect or block the metabolism, growth or development of a plant. The response of the plant may vary depending on the frequency and intensity of the stressor, as well as the developmental stage of the plant. Plants, throughout their life cycle, are exposed to a large number of conditions or stressors. Abiotic stress is stress caused by non-living agents. Depending on the nature of the causal agent, it can be divided into physical and chemical. Physical (actually, physical-chemical) stresses include water deficits, salinity (in its osmotic component), temperature extremes (heat, cold, freezing), excessive or insufficient irradiation, anaerobiosis caused by waterlogging or flooding, mechanical stress caused by wind or excessive soil compaction and stress induced by wounds or injuries. Chemical stress is caused by salinity (in its ionic or toxic component), by the lack of mineral elements and by environmental pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs), ozone (O3) and metals. The abiotic stresses that most negatively affect growth and production are probably drought, salt stress and temperature stress (high and low temperatures), all of which are associated with climate change.

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Antioxidants are a point of focus for different research fields due to their potential oxidative stress prevention and multiple biological properties, potentiating several industrial applications. This reprint provides new insights into the antioxidant properties of foods and natural products, important structural features and the mechanisms of action of antioxidants and pro-oxidants, as well as antioxidants and pro-oxidants' potential health-promoting effects.

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“Antioxidant Activity of Polyphenolic Plant Extracts” is a collection of scientific articles regarding polyphenols, that is, substances occurring naturally in plants and exhibiting many beneficial effects on human health. Among polyphenols’ interesting biological properties, their antioxidant activity is considered the most important. This book brings together experts from different research fields on topics related to polyphenols, such as their isolation and purification, assessment of their antioxidant activity, prevention from oxidative stress-induced diseases and use as food additives. The polyphenols used in the present studies are derived from a great variety of plants, ranging from well-known species to rare ones that are only found in specific regions. Moreover, some of the studies provide evidence that polyphenols may be used for the prevention and treatment of common diseases such as diabetes mellitus, Alzheimers’ disease, cardiovascular and intestinal diseases. Importantly, in several of the studies “green extraction methods” for the isolation of polyphenols were developed using modern technologies, where few or no organic solvents were used, in order to minimize environmental and health impacts.

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Antioxidants in food have a dual role; on the one hand, they preserve the quality and shelf life of food products; on the other hand, they function as an external aid, helping to defend our living cells from the threat of oxidative stress. Therefore, foods rich in antioxidants are a useful tool to reduce morbidity and prevent degenerative diseases. Consequently, research related to antioxidants is continually growing. This book brings together 21 articles regarding the latest advances in the most relevant fields of food antioxidant research; from the identification and characterization of new active components, to their molecular mechanisms and the scientific evidence of their clinical use and effectiveness.

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