PHYTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THE BIOACTIVITY OF PLANT EXTRACTS FROM LIGURIAN CROPS

The present research project will consider species of aromatic plants grown in Liguria, that are of interest for territorial development, and will focus on the identification and isolation of new bioactive substances, and on the phytochemical characterization of cultivars of particular interest. Since the above aromatic types are often characterized by the presence of metabolites with antimicrobial action, attention will be given to the identification of compounds that exhibit this activity, on microorganisms resistant to the most common antibiotics. The production of aromatic plants, belonging to the Lamiaceae family, is a reality that is becoming increasingly important in the Mediterranean area and particularly in our Region. Various species of Salvia can represent new interesting crops since they have morphological and ecological characteristics suitable for the Mediterranean climate, and the Ligurian one, and a good extractive potential. In addition to Lamiaceae, Allium sativum L. (Alliaceae), and the cultivars cultivated in the mountain area of Liguria towards the border with France ("garlic of Vessalico") is currently considered a territorial excellence. Garlic has been described as an antimicrobial, antiseptic, antiviral, antioxidant, anticancer, immunostimulant, cardioprotective and hypoglycemic. The research work will be developed within the following fields: phytochemistry, evaluation of the bioactivity of the isolated compounds, data analysis. The obtained data will be evaluated based on classic and advanced statistical methods. Alongside the instrumental approach, it will be possible to combine an in-silico study, using computational chemistry programs, aimed at investigating the nature of the interactions in the ligand-receptor complexes.