This ethnobotanical survey was carried out in Caspoggio (Valmalenco, SO, Italy) with the purpose of investigating the traditional uses of medicinal plants. Moreover, a bibliographic research meant to validate or refute the uses, focusing on the potentially responsible compounds, was performed. Fifty-nine species, attributable to 30 families (Asteraceae, Pinaceae, Malvaceae, and Lamiaceae the most cited), were mentioned. Arnica montana, anti-inflammatory for traumas and musculoskeletal pains; Pinus mugo, expectorant; Malva sylvestris, anti-inflammatory and soothing; Achillea moschata, digestive. The compounds, responsible for the therapeutic activities, are often polyphenols and terpenoids: helenanin in A. montana, α-pinene, δ-3-carene, and limonene in P. mugo, gossypin and malvin in M. sylvestris, luteolin and apigenin in A. moschata. Scientific evidence for at least one of the traditional activities described was found for 50 species but only in 26 out of 196 works consulted, it is possible to make a comparison between investigated extracts and traditional preparations. This study is thus a stimulus to new phytochemical investigations, mimicking as much as possible the traditional preparations. This work is part of the European Interreg Italy-Switzerland B-ICE project, aimed at creating a management model for the ongoing climate change and searching for new sources of territory valorization as attractions for tourists.

In the present paper, we focused our attention on Cinnamomum camphora (L.) J. Presl. (Lauraceae), studied at three levels: (i) micromorphological, with the analysis of the secretory structures and a novel in-depth histochemical characterization of the secreted compounds; (ii) phytochemical, with the characterization of the essential oils from young stems, fruits, and leaves, subjected to different conservation procedures (fresh, dried, stored at −20 °C, stored at −80 °C) and collected in two different years; (iii) bioactive, consisting of a study of the potential antibacterial activity of the essential oils. The micromorphological investigation proved the presence of secretory cells characterized by a multi-layered wall in the young stems and leaves. They resulted in two different types: mucilage cells producing muco-polysaccharides and oil cells with an exclusive terpene production. The phytochemical investigations showed a predominance of monoterpenes over sesquiterpene derivatives; among them, the main components retrieved in all samples were 1,8-cineole followed by α-terpineol and sabinene. Conservation procedures seem to only influence the amounts of specific components, i.e., 1,8-cineole and α-terpineol, while analyses on each plant part revealed the presence of some peculiar secondary constituents for each of them. Finally, the evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the essential oil showed a promising activity against various microorganisms, as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In conclusion, we combined a micromorphological and phytochemical approach of the study on different plant parts of C. camphora, linking the occurrence of secretory cells to the production of essential oils. We compared, for the first time, the composition of essential oils derived from different plant matrices conserved with different procedures, allowing us to highlight a relation between the conservation technique and the main components of the profiles. Moreover, the preliminary antibacterial studies evidenced the potential activity of the essential oils against various microorganisms potentially dangerous for plants and humans.

In this work, we studied Tanacetum vulgare, Tanacetum parthenium, and Tanacetum corymbosum (Asteraceae) cultivated at the Ghirardi Botanic Garden (Toscolano Maderno, Brescia, Northern Italy) of the University of Milan. An integrative research approach was adopted: microscopic and histochemical, with special focus on the secretory structures responsible for the productivity of secondary metabolites; phytochemical, with the analysis of the essential oil (EO) profiles from the air-dried, flowered aerial parts collected in June 2021; bio-ecological, with emphasis, based on literature data, on the ecology and biological activity of the main EO components. In all three species, two basic trichome morphotypes (flagellar non-glandular and biseriate glandular) occurred with different distribution patterns. The glandular ones produced terpenes, along with flavonoids. A high level of chemical variability in the EO compositions emerged, specifically for qualitative data. T. vulgare profile was more complex and heterogeneous than those obtained from T. parthenium and T. corymbosum, with camphor as the predominant compound, followed by farnesol and α-santalone, respectively. Finally, the obtained scientific findings were made available to the visitors of the botanic garden through new dissemination labeling that highlights the “invisible”, microscopic features of the plants, from an Open Science perspective (“Botanic Garden, factories of molecules…work in progress”—Lombardy Region Project Lr. 25/2016, year 2021).

A novel perception of botanic gardens as complex “factories of molecules” (Lombardy Region Project–Lr. 25/2016, year 2021), that mediate plant–environment interactions, and are the basis of their utility for humans, is presented. The core-topic is the medicinal plant heritage of the Ghirardi Botanic Garden (Toscolano Maderno, Brescia, Italy) of the University of Milan. In this work, we studied Myrtus communis L. subsp. communis (Myrtaceae) at multiple scale levels: macro- and micromorphological, with special emphasis on the secretory structures responsible for the production of secondary metabolites; phytochemical, with the analysis of the essential oil (EO) composition from leaves (fresh, dried, stored at −20 °C and at −80 °C) and fruits over two consecutive years (2018 and 2019); bio-ecological, with a focus, based on literature data, on the ecology and biological activity of the main EO components. The occurrence of secretory cavities producing terpenes, along with flavonoids, was proven. A high level of chemical variability across the obtained EO profiles emerged, especially that concerning quantitative data. However, regardless of the different conservation procedures, the examined plant part, or the phenological stage, we detected the presence of three ubiquitous compounds: α-pinene, 1,8-cineole, and linalool. The overall results will serve to enrich the Ghirardi Botanic Garden with novel labeling showing accurate and updated scientific information in an Open science perspective.