The book includes original research and review articles covering different aspects of the exploitation of bioactive compounds recovered from vegetables and plants as natural ingredients for nutraceutical purposes and for crop protection. Innovative approaches for the extraction of bioactives from different plant species are detailed together with up-todate methods and results of investigations on the quali-quantitative fingerprint of the obtained extracts. Sustainability of the extraction processes is also considered, with studies focused on the reuse of agri-food industry wastes with a view to a circular economy. Additionally, biotechnological and microbial-based approches are addressed with studies aiming for the recovery of biactives from bacterial and fungi microrganisms and using microrganisms to improve the bioactives’ extraction performances. In vivo tests and in vitro bioassays to support biological activity of purified compounds, complex extracts and/or combined extracts deriving from different matrices are reported and sustainable strategies for the use of the bioactives for nutraceutical, therapeutic and crop protection applications are also discussed, with particular attention paid to the design of new sustainable drugs.
