Pese a sus ventajas, los agroquímicos son controversiales por el impacto negativo en el medioambiente ¹ . La aplicación excesiva de pesticidas desarrolla resistencia de las plagas y como daño colateral perjudica a organismos benéficos para el ambiente ³ . Además, la permanencia de estas sustancias en el subsuelo y mantos acuíferos presenta riesgos para el ambiente y la salud humana ⁴ . Entonces, tienen una alta actividad carcinogénica y teratogénica; así como dosis elevadas y una alta exposición a compuestos organofosforados interfieren en la regulación hormonal ³ y se han asociado a diversos trastornos crónicos no transmisibles y no diagnosticados que afectan el sistema cardiovascular, hepático, renal, nervioso y reproductivo. Un ejemplo es la enfermedad renal crónica de etiología desconocida y el síndrome del intestino permeable, trastornos frecuentes en varios países de América Central, partes de Mesoamérica, el sur de Europa, en India y China ⁴ , ⁵ .

Agricultural systems face several challenges in terms of meeting everyday-growing quantities and qualities of food requirements. However, the ecological and social trade-offs for increasing agricultural production are high, therefore, more sustainable agricultural practices are desired. Researchers are currently working on diverse sustainable techniques based mostly on natural mechanisms that plants have developed along with their evolution. Here, we discuss the potential agricultural application of extracellular DNA (eDNA), its multiple functioning mechanisms in plant metabolism, the importance of hormetic curves establishment, and as a challenge: the technical limitations of the industrial scale for this technology. We highlight the more viable natural mechanisms in which eDNA affects plant metabolism, acting as a damage/microbe-associated molecular pattern (DAMP, MAMP) or as a general plant biostimulant. Finally, we suggest a whole sustainable system, where DNA is extracted from organic sources by a simple methodology to fulfill the molecular characteristics needed to be applied in crop production systems, allowing the reduction in, or perhaps the total removal of, chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and insecticides application.

Plants that experience a lack of sufficient irrigation undergo hydric stress, which causes the modification of their mechanical properties. These changes include a complex network of chemical and physical signals that interact between plant-plant and plant-environment systems in a mechanism that is still not well understood, and that differs among species. This mechanical response implies different levels of vibration when the plant experiences structural modifications from self-hydraulic adjustments of flux exchange at specific frequencies, with these carrying behavioral information. To measure these signals, highly sensitive instrumentation that allows the decoding of displacement velocity and displacement of plants, which is possible through calibrated equipment such as 3D scanning laser vibrometers, is necessary. Laser vibrometry technology allows for noninvasive measurements in real-time. Physiological changes could reasonably affect the biomechanical condition of plants in terms of the frequency (hertz) and intensity of the plant’s vibration. In this research, it is proposed that the frequency changes of a plant’s vibration are related to the plant’s hydric condition and that these frequency vibrations have the ecological potential to communicate water changes and levels of hydric stress. The peak of the velocity of plant displacements was found to vary from 0.079 to 1.74 mm/s, and natural frequencies (hertz) range is between 1.8 and 2.6 Hz for plants with low hydric stress (LHS), between 1.3 and 1.6 Hz for plants with medium hydric stress (MHS), and between 6.7 and 7.8 Hz for plants with high hydric stress. These values could act as preliminary references for water management using noninvasive techniques and, knowledge of the range of natural frequencies of hydric stress risk in chili pepper crops can be applied in precision agriculture practices.

Colorectal cancer is an important concern in modern society. Risk factors such as the diet indicate the need to find healthy food products displaying additional health benefits. This study aimed to characterise and evaluate the impact of the colonic metabolites from the fermented non-digestible fraction of Moringa oleifera (MO) leaves (FNFM) on cell death mechanisms from HT-29 cells. MO leaves were digested in vitro, and the 12 h-colonic extract was obtained. FNFM mainly contained morin and chlorogenic acids (41.97 and 25.33 µg/g sample). Butyric acid was ranked as the most important metabolite of FNFM. The FNFM exerted antiproliferative effect against HT-29 colorectal cancer cells (half lethal concentration, LC₅₀: 5.9 mL/100 mL). Compared to untreated control, LC₅₀ increased H2O2 production (149.43%); induced apoptosis (119.02%), autophagy (75.60%), and necrosis (87.72%). These results suggested that digested MO colonic metabolites exert antiproliferative effect against HT-29 cells, providing additional health benefits associated with MO consumption.