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Arnica montana is a plant distributed in most of Europe, including the Alpine arc and Apennines in Italy, and traditionally used worldwide for medicinal properties. Twelve natural populations of the species from Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, were characterized using Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction analysis for their volatile profile. Fifty-one compounds were detected in flower heads, the most abundant being (E)-Caryophyllene (23.4 %), 2,2,4,6,6-Pentamethylheptane (8.3 %), α- trans-Bergamotene (7.2 %), Germacrene D (5.7 %), and Hexanal (5.3 %). A multivariate analysis performed on the ten most abundant compounds grouped these investigated accessions into five main clusters. Three clusters, comprising together five accessions, were linked to the geographical origin of two collection sites. This work is a complete characterization of volatiles of the species by SPME analysis reported to date. Furthermore, results suggest that the species' volatile profile can be linked to the geographical origin of the natural populations and, therefore, represent a tool for evaluating biodiversity within the species.

The Echinacea genus includes a number of species that are commercially employed for the preparation of herbal products. Echinacea angustifolia DC. is one of these and is widely used, mainly for its immunomodulating properties, as it contains a wide range of compounds that belong to different chemical classes. In particular, echinacoside, cynarin and lipophylic alkylamides are the main specialized metabolites of the roots and can be considered to be marker compounds. In this work, 65 E. angustifolia accessions have been compared in a field trial in Italy, with the aim of investigating the variability/stability of the weight and chemical composition of their roots in order to identify the accessions that are most promising for future genetic-improvement programs. The morphological characteristics of the aerial parts have also been investigated. Seventeen samples were discarded due to germination or plantlet-development issues. Seven of the remaining accessions were identified as being different Echinacea species after a combined phytochemical and morphological evaluation. The morphological traits of the epigeal part, the root weight and the chemical composition data of the 41 confirmed E. angustifolia accessions were submitted to multivariate statistical analysis and a moderately homogenous sample distribution, with low selected-marker variability, was observed. Good echinacoside content was detected in almost all roots (&gt, 0.5%). However, two groups of accessions stood out because of their interesting features: One group possessed small roots, but had a high concentration of marker compounds, while another had highly developed roots and a good amount of marker compounds. These accessions can therefore be exploited for future selection work.

Echinacea angustifolia plants were grown in pots containing three growth substrates, highly light soil, a medium light soil, and natural farm soil to which horticultural substrate (Manna Flor PT) was added in various proportions. The root length, number of main roots, number of secondary roots, collar diameter, root diameter, distance between collar and root bifurcation, root hairs density, and fresh and dried root weight per plant were measured. The plants grown in the substrate corresponding to highly light soil (75% sand and 25% horticultural substrate), harvested after 3 years, had a good development (54.8 cm) and weight (23.9 g of dry weight) of the root. The effect of growth substrates was not evident for echinacoside (0.40% on average) and dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic isobutylamide (0.26% on average), while it was clear for cynarin and chicoric acid, which were higher (respectively 0.13% and 0.22%) in the substrate consisting of 75% of farm soil and 25% of horticultural substrate.

The chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of the volatile fraction of a naturalized population of parsley [Petroselinum crispum (Mill) Nyman] were assessed and compared in a field trial with those of three commercial cultivars. Volatile oils extracted from the leaves were analysed by GC/FID and GC/MS. A total of twenty compounds were detected in all accessions, being the most representatives the terpenes 1,3,8-p-mentathriene and β-phellandrene and the phenylpropanoid myristicin. The naturalized population differed from the cultivars for the highest yield of volatile oil, which was characterized by the absence of apiole, a lower content of myristicin and the highest amount of 1,3,8-p-mentathriene. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil from the evaluated accessions was very low. Due to its essential oil yield and composition, the naturalized population could be taken into consideration for the starting of a breeding programme.

The phenolic profile and the content of the bitter sesquiterpene lactone 8- O -acetyl-15-β- d -glucopyranosyllactucin were assessed in the edible shoots of Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallroth. Shoots from four different accessions, three of them cultivated and one collected in the wild, were analyzed by HPLC-DAD. 8- O -Acetyl-15-β- d -glucopyranosyllactucin, the main bitter compound of the vegetable, and caffeic acid derivatives chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, caffeoyltartric acid, and cichoric acid were identified and quantified. Pronounced variability in the content of all compounds was observed within samples from the same accession. The edible shoots of C. alpina contain large amounts of antioxidant caffeic acid derivatives and might therefore be of interest as chemopreventives. The observed variability within the species offers opportunities to start a breeding program with the focus on the sensory and antioxidant properties of the envisaged cultivar.

Aruncus dioicus (Walter) Fernald is an herbaceous plant belonging to the Rosaceae family. In the northern regions of Italy young shoots of A. dioicus are collected and used as vegetable. No studies on the chemical composition of young shoots of A. dioicus have been reported so far. Thus, the aim of the present paper was to develop and validate a comprehensive chromatographic method allowing the identification and quantification of chemical compounds occurring in A. dioicus shoots harvested at different developmental stages. The results showed that shoots contain mainly polyphenols. Twenty-four compounds were detected. Caffeoylglucose derivatives were recognized as major compounds. It was also confirmed that shoots contain the cyanogenic compound prunasin at all investigated vegetation stages. It was shown that the prunasin content significantly increases during plant development, thus justifying the belief that after the development of the first green leaves, shoots should not be used for culinary purposes any longer.

Echinacea angustifolia DC., native from North America, is one of the three Echinacea species that are widely used as herbal remedy, mainly for their immunostimulant properties. Echinacoside, cynarin and alkylamides are the main constituents of the species. Five plants of two accessions (JA2 and JA9) of narrow-leaved coneflower were harvested from the second to the fifth year of cultivation and secondary metabolites content were determined in the whole root as well as in different samples such as the crown, cortex, internal tissue and thin roots. The highest content of marker compounds was found in the thin roots (0.20% for cynarin and 1.11% for echinacoside and from 0.29 to 0.44% for dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic isobutylamide) and in the root cortex (0.16% for cynarin and 1.01% for echinacoside and from 0.31 to 0.48% for dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic isobutylamide). Our results demonstrated that root cortex tissue accumulates the marker compounds, explaining why the thin roots present the higher amount of secondary metabolite. Regarding the entire roots, differences between the accessions (JA9 versus JA2, except for cynarin) and among the years were observed. The lowest and the highest echinacoside content was measured in the JA9 accession, in the second (0.39%) and in the fifth (1.47%) year of growing, respectively. The lowest and the highest dodeca-2E,4E,8Z,10E/Z-tetraenoic isobutylamide content was found in the third year, 0.43% in JA9 and 0.16% in JA2, respectively. The lowest and the highest cynarin content was obtained in the fourth year (0.11% in JA9) and in the fifth (0.22% in JA2), respectively. These results may be useful for Echinacea growers and processors to improve their agronomical and post-harvesting choices.