Soil constitutes the central environmental compartment that, primarily due to anthropogenic activities, is the recipient of several contaminants. Among these are organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), which are of major concern, even though they were banned decades ago due to their persistence and the health effects they can elicit. In this review, an overview of monitoring studies regarding OCPs in soils published over the last 30 years along with the development of analytical methods and extraction procedures for their determination in soil are presented. The presented synopsis verifies the soil contamination by OCPs during the last several decades. Soil pollution by OCPs should be an essential aspect of the characterization of whole soil quality, considering that a significant percent of soils on a global scale are in the borderline of suitability for cultivation and pertinent activities. The latter, to an extent, is attributed to the presence of organic contaminants, especially those of persistent chemical natures.

The aim of the present study was the investigation of the antioxidant activity of plant extracts from Rosa canina, Rosa sempervivens and Pyrocantha coccinea. The results showed that the bioactive compounds found at higher concentrations were in the R. canina extract: hyperoside, astragalin, rutin, (+)-catechin and (-)-epicatechin; in the R. sempervirens extract: quinic acid, (+)-catechin, (−)-epicatechin, astragalin and hyperoside; and in the P. coccinea extract: hyperoside, rutin, (−)-epicatechin, (+)-catechin, astragalin, vanillin, syringic acid and chlorogenic acid. The total polyphenolic content was 290.00, 267.67 and 226.93 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE)/g dw, and the total flavonoid content 118.56, 65.78 and 99.16 mg Catechin Equivalent (CE)/g dw for R. caninna, R. sempervirens and P. coccinea extracts, respectively. The extracts exhibited radical scavenging activity in DPPH and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS)•⁺ assays and protection from ROO•-induced DNA damage in the following potency order: R. canina > R. sempervirens > P. coccinea. Finally, treatment with R. canina and P. coccinea extract significantly increased the levels of the antioxidant molecule glutathione, while R. canina extract significantly decreased Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in endothelial cells. The results herein indicated that the R. canina extract in particular may be used for developing food supplements or biofunctional foods for the prevention of oxidative stress-induced pathological conditions of endothelium.

Angiogenesis is a mulit-step process by which new blood vessels are formed from preexisting vasculature. It is a key rate limiting factor in tumor growth since new blood vessels are necessary to increase tumor size. In this context it has been shown that anti-angiogenic factors can be used in cancer therapy. Among the plethora of heterocyclic compounds administered as anti-angiogenesis agents, pyrazoles constitute one of the bottlenecks of this category. Currently several pyrazole based compounds are administered or are in Phase II and III trials and new targets emerge. It is highly possible that the advent of the next two decades will lead to the discovery and use of additional pyrazoles whose anti-angiogenic profile will position them in the forefront of the battle of various malignancies. The present review is an attempt to focus on those pyrazoles that arise as anti-angiogenesis agents commenting both on the chemistry and bioactivity that these exhibit aiming to contribute to the perspectives that they hold for future research.

Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] (GPS) is currently the most commonly applied herbicide worldwide. Given the widespread use of glyphosate, the investigation of the relationship between glyphosate and soil ecosystem is critical and has great significance for its valid application and environmental safety evaluation. However, although the occurrence of glyphosate residues in surface and groundwater is rather well documented, only few information are available for soils and even fewer for air. Due to this, the importance of developing methods that are effective and fast to determine and quantify glyphosate and its major degradation product, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), is emphasized. Based on its structure, the determination of this pesticide using a simple analytical method remains a challenge, a fact known as the “glyphosate paradox.” In this chapter a critical review of the existing literature and data comparison studies regarding the occurrence and the development of analytical methods for the determination of pesticide glyphosate in soil and air is performed.