Cannabis sativa L. is an important herbaceous species originating from Central Asia, which has been used in folk medicine and as a source of textile fibre since the dawn of times. This fast-growing plant has recently seen a resurgence of interest because of its multi-purpose applications: it is indeed a treasure trove of phytochemicals and a rich source of both cellulosic and woody fibres. Equally highly interested in this plant are the pharmaceutical and construction sectors, since its metabolites show potent bioactivities on human health and its outer and inner stem tissues can be used to make bioplastics and concrete-like material, respectively. In this review, the rich spectrum of hemp phytochemicals is discussed by putting a special emphasis on molecules of industrial interest, including cannabinoids, terpenoids and phenolic compounds, and their biosynthetic routes. Cannabinoids represent the most studied group of compounds, mainly due to their wide range of pharmaceutical effects in humans, including psychotropic activities. The therapeutic and commercial interests of some terpenoids and phenolic compounds, and in particular stilbenoids and lignans, are also highlighted in view of the most recent literature data. Biotechnological avenues to enhance the production and bioactivity of hemp secondary metabolites are proposed by discussing the power of plant genetic engineering and tissue culture. In particular two systems are reviewed, i.e. cell suspension and hairy root cultures. Additionally, an entire section is devoted to hemp trichomes, in the light of their importance as phytochemical factories. Ultimately, prospects on the benefits linked to the use of the -omics technologies, such as metabolomics and transcriptomics to speed up the identification and the large-scale production of lead agents from bioengineered Cannabis cell culture, are presented.

Potato has contributed to human diet for thousands of years, first in the Andes of South America and then in the rest of the world. Its contribution to the human diet is affected by cooking, potato intake levels, and the bioavailability of potato nutrients. Generally, the key nutrients found in potatoes including minerals, proteins, and dietary fiber are well retained after cooking. Vitamins C and B₆ are significantly reduced after cooking while carotenoids and anthocyanins show high recoveries after cooking due to an improved release of these antioxidants. In many developed countries potatoes are consumed as a vegetable with intakes that vary from 50 to 150 g per day for adults. On the other hand, in some rural areas of Africa and in the highlands of Latin American countries, potato is considered a staple crop and is consumed in large quantities with intakes that vary from 300 to 800 g per day for adults. These marked differences in the potato intake affect significantly the contribution of potato nutrients to the human dietary requirements. In recent years, information about nutrient bioaccessibility and bioavailability from potatoes has become available indicating higher bioaccessibility of minerals and vitamins in potato as compared with other staple crops such as beans or wheat. Bioavailability refers to the fraction of an ingested nutrient that is available for utilization in normal physiological functions and/or for body storage while bioaccessibility refers to the amount that is potentially absorbable from the gut lumen. In addition, potatoes have shown promising health-promoting properties in human cell culture, experimental animal and human clinical studies, including anticancer, hypocholesterolemic, anti-inflammatory, anti-obesity, and antidiabetic properties with phenolics, anthocyanins, fiber, resistant starch, carotenoids as well as glycoalkaloids contributing to the health benefits of potatoes.

Understanding the genetic architecture of apple phytochemicals, and their interplay with conventional selection traits, is critical for the development of new apple cultivars with enhanced health benefits. Apple accessions (n = 344) used for this genome-wide association study (GWAS) represented the wide diversity of metabolic profiles in the domesticated and wild Malus genepools. Fruit samples were phenotyped for 34 metabolites, including a stable vitamin C glycoside “ascorbic acid 2-β-glucoside” (AA-2βG), and the accessions were genotyped using the Apple 20 K SNP Array. Several fruit quality traits, including red skin over-colour (OCOL), were also assessed. Wild Malus accessions showed at least 2-fold higher average content of several metabolites (e.g. ascorbic acid, chlorogenic acid, phloridzin, and trilobatin) than Malus domestica accessions. Several new genomic regions and potential candidate genes underpinning the genetic diversity of apple phytochemicals were identified. The percentage of phenotypic variance explained by the best SNP ranged between 3% and 21% for the different metabolites. Novel association signals for OCOL in the syntenic regions on chromosomes 13 and 16 suggested that whole genome duplication has played a role in the evolution of apple red skin colour. Genetic correlations between phytochemicals and sensory traits were moderate. This study will assist in the selection of Malus accessions with specific phytochemical profiles to establish innovative genomics-based breeding strategies for the development of apple cultivars with enhanced nutritional value.

Food market globalization, food security as well as increasing consumer demand for safe, minimally processed and healthy food impose the need to establish new approaches for identifying and assessing food quality markers. Nowadays, food industry stakeholders are challenged to assure food quality and safety without compromising several prerequisites such as sustainable and ecologically resilient food production, prolonged shelf life, satisfactory sensory quality, enhanced nutritional value and health-promoting properties. In addition, food fraud related to deliberate product mislabeling or economically intended adulteration is of major concern for both industry and regulatory authorities due to cost and public health implications. Notwithstanding the great number of state-of-the-art analytical tools available for quantifying food quality markers, their implementation results in highly complex and big datasets, which are not easily interpretable. In this context, chemometrics e.g., supervised and unsupervised multivariate exploratory analyses, design-of-experiment methodology, univariate or multivariate regression modelling etc., are commonly implemented as part of food process optimization and food quality assessment. In this Special Issue, we aimed to publish innovative research and perspective papers on chemometric-assisted case studies relating to food quality assessment, food authenticity, mathematical modelling and optimization of processes involved in food manufacturing.

Apple russeting develops on the fruit surface when skin integrity has been lost. It induces a modification of fruit wax composition, including its triterpene profile. In the present work, we studied two closely related apple varieties, ‘Reinette grise du Canada’ and ‘Reinette blanche du Canada’, which display russeted and non-russeted skin phenotypes, respectively, during fruit development. To better understand the molecular events associated with russeting and the differential triterpene composition, metabolomics data were generated using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) and combined with proteomic and transcriptomic data. Our results indicated lower expression of genes linked to cuticle biosynthesis (cutin and wax) in russet apple throughout fruit development, along with an alteration of the specialized metabolism pathways, including triterpene and phenylpropanoid. We identified a lipid transfer protein (LTP3) as a novel player in cuticle formation, possibly involved in the transport of both cutin and wax components in apple skin. Metabolomic data highlighted for the first time a large diversity of triterpene-hydroxycinnamates in russeted tissues, accumulation of which was highly correlated with suberin-related genes, including some enzymes belonging to the BAHD (HXXXD-motif) acyltransferase family. Overall, this study increases our understanding about the crosstalk between triterpene and suberin pathways.

Summary: The potential of cannabinoids to address public health challenges has stimulated exploration into alternative sources and production technologies. Radula marginata, an endemic Aotearoa/New Zealand liverwort, produces the bibenzyl cannabinoid perrottetinene (PET), analogous to Cannabis psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Structural differences between PET and THC could alter therapeutic interactions and mitigate adverse side effects. To understand the cannabinoid production potential of R. marginata, we analyzed 75 collections from three locations across several seasons, collaborating with kaitiaki Māori (indigenous guardians). Metabolic plasticity of the phytocannabinoids and plant growth was assessed under controlled growth conditions, and in in vitro culture. Perrottetinene diol (trans‐PTD), analogous to cannabidiol (trans‐CBD), and its acid precursor (PTDA), were identified and fully characterized from nature for the first time. Bibenzyl‐4‐geranyl (BB4G), analogous to cannabigerol (CBG), and its corresponding acid (BB4GA), were also isolated. Radula marginata showed chemotypes dominated by PET, PTD, or BB4G, in striking analogy to the main Cannabis chemotypes. These site‐selective chemotypes persisted after growth under artificial lighting and in in vitro progeny, suggesting genetic control. These results expand phytocannabinoid knowledge through the discovery of PTD analogous to CBD. They add a new dimension to liverwort cannabinoids and suggest convergent evolution of biosynthesis in two distant plant lineages.