Polyphenols are a heterogeneous group of bioactive compounds mainly found in plant-based foods. Numerous clinical and epidemiological studies have led to the result that polyphenol intake may protect against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, or type 2 diabetes, to name some. Polyphenol intake estimation can be obtained through food frequency questionnaires and nutritional biomarkers, both having their own advantages and disadvantages. Although the association between these bioactive compounds and health seems irrefutable, many questions remain still unanswered. For instance, more studies are needed to identify possible interactions and effect-modulating variables, such as smoking habit, body mass index, sex, alcohol, hormones, other foods, etc. Moreover, intestinal microbiota seems to play an important role in the metabolism of polyphenols, but it is still unclear how.

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As editors of this book our aim was to collect new data from experienced authors in order to further advance the knowledge on the protective effects of polyphenols’ intake, e.g., when included in the human diet, to modulate cellular functions and pathways associated with neurodegenerative diseases.Fruits and vegetables are the richest source of polyphenols in the regular human diet. Most of these molecules possess high antioxidant capacity, as well as several other important activities that can affect human health, among which anti-inflammatory properties and the potential ability to modulate different cell-signalling pathways seem to be the most important. Neurodegenerative diseases are among the main causes of death worldwide and, in most of them like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, neurodegeneration occurs long before the onset of first symptoms, where a large population of brain neurons are already lost. Besides neurons, glial cells like astrocytes and microglia, are involved in oxidative and neuroinflammatory pathological pathways, making them interesting targets for neuroprotective strategies. Polyphenols are promising candidates for those strategies, either as prophylactic substances or as therapeutic molecules.In this book, several research papers and two reviews explore the chemical properties of naturally occurring polyphenols and some new possibilities for the therapeutical and/or prophylactic roles of these molecules on neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative diseases.

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Phenolic compounds are non-essential dietary compounds that are found in many vegetables (i.e. onion, cabbage, broccoli and parsley), fruits (i.e. cherries, grapes, berries and pears), cereals and beverages (i.e. red wine, tea and chocolate). These heterogeneous compounds are produced as secondary metabolites. Structurally, these compounds are characterized by comprising an aromatic ring with one or more hydroxyl groups that can be classified into two groups: flavonoids and non-flavonoids. Phenolic compounds have received considerable attention for its health-promoting properties in many chronic disorders including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, among others. These health benefits are mainly attributed to its antioxidant properties. Phenolic compounds act as antioxidant by scavenging free radicals, metal chelation and endogenous antioxidant system upregulation (enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase and non-enzymatic antioxidants such as glutathione).The consumption of exogenous medicinal plants and food rich in phenolic compounds represent a promising therapeutically to prevent many chronic diseases and improve health.This Special Issue entitled “Effect of Phenolic Compounds on Human Health” include research articles and review articles on phenolic compounds and its role in health (i.e. flavonoids and diabetes, polyphenols and liver diseases, polyphenols and obesity, polyphenols and cardiovascular diseases and polyphenols and neuroprotection).

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We are very pleased to introduce the Book Version of our Special Issue in Molecules dedicated to the memory of the late Professor Dr. Charles D. Hufford. The issue has been a huge success, with 22 full-length peer-reviewed papers and a tribute by Professor Alice M.Clark. Authors, reviewers, and collaborators from many countries across the worldhave contributed to this endeavour, and we are truly grateful to all. This Special Issue isrepresentative of the broad impact that “Charlie” had on the field of bioactive naturalproducts. This Special Issue comprises papers from Professor Hufford’s former students,colleagues, and collaborators throughout the world who have utilized a wide array ofstate-of-the-art techniques to examine diverse natural sources to isolate and identify avariety of natural products with a wide spectrum of biological activities, including somenew microbial transformations and insights into bioactive molecules. Many new bioactive compounds are described and reported here for the first time. Bioactivities reportedinclude cytotoxicity, antimicrobial activity, anti-inflammatory activity, antileishmanialactivity, antitrypanosomal activity, antimalarial activity, analgesic activity, and beneficialliver activities, just to name a few. This Special Issue will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the field of bioactive natural products, as exemplified by the career of Dr. Hufford.Lastly, without the timely and outstanding contributions from all of you, this Special Issue would not have been possible. We thank you all very much for your contributions and your time devoted to this Special Issue in memory of a special person. Finally, we express ourgratitude and thanks to the journal Molecules and their excellent team of expert reviewers for giving us the support and opportunity to make this Special Issue a huge success!

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The chemistry of natural products is rich in diversity, which can be noted from several perspectives. Plants, fungi, and marine organisms represent sources of small molecules characterized by unique complexity related to their varied scaffolds, functional groups, and stereochemistry. At the same time, extraction, de novo synthesis, derivatization, and semi-synthetic approaches represent challenging tasks for organic chemists. In parallel, analytical profiling of the content of organic compounds and microelements in natural matrices pushes experimental techniques to the edge of their potential due to the complex tasks involved in sample preparation and data elaboration. Additionally, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenes, as well as their semisynthetic derivatives, attract the interest of medicinal chemists due to their beneficial biological effects, which include antioxidant, antiproliferative, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. This Special Issue aimed to collect original contributions to describe the extraction, structural elucidation, and synthesis of natural, semisynthetic, and nature-inspired synthetic molecules. Moreover, articles that discuss the analysis of the content and bioactivity of natural compounds in complex matrices, as well as review articles that focus on the chemistry of natural products, were considered in combination with research articles that describe significant results in terms of their innovative synthetic and extractive, as well as advanced analytical, techniques (chromatography, 1D and 2D NMR, mass spectrometry, IR and UV spectroscopy, etc.).

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Vols 1 and 2 contain 57 papers in the Special Issue of ‘Plant Genomics 2009’ and cover a wide range of topics, highlighting the significant progress that has been made in recent years in our understanding of the genetics and genomics of plants’ growth, development, and stress responses. These studies provide valuable insights into the potential applications of genomic tools and technologies for crop improvement and sustainable agriculture, as well as fundamental questions about the evolution and function of plant genes and genomes.

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Vols 1 and 2 contain 57 papers in the Special Issue of ‘Plant Genomics 2009’ and cover a wide range of topics, highlighting the significant progress that has been made in recent years in our understanding of the genetics and genomics of plants’ growth, development, and stress responses. These studies provide valuable insights into the potential applications of genomic tools and technologies for crop improvement and sustainable agriculture, as well as fundamental questions about the evolution and function of plant genes and genomes.

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Advancements in efficient energy sources have played a pivotal role in determining the present world energy structure. Renewable biomass energy has been incorporated in industrial regulations and policies in many European countries. Based on the statistics, more than one-seventh of the total world energy consumption is generated from biomass.The renewable energies movement was prompted by two important factors: a) growing world energy consumption and b) the abundance of generated biomass residues, especially in agriculture. In the case of the first, batteries containing different metals are considered, as is the production of items for human consumption (food, clothing, home comfort, etc.). In the second case, the biomass waste from plants and animals, as byproducts of cultivating and production processes, is the main source of generated waste.

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