Research area: Botany - Mycology - Agriculture
Coordinators: Emanuela Martino, Valeria Cavalloro, Alice Fossati, Francesco Bracco
ERC sectors: LS9_8 Applied plant sciences, plant breeding, agroecology and soil biology; PE4_5 Analytical chemistry; PE5_18 Medicinal chemistry
1. Development of sustainable approaches to drug discovery from plant matrices
Development of methods to reduce the environmental impact of nature-aided drug discovery. Characterization and biological evaluation of extracts and metabolites. Bioguided fractionation has led to the identification of neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer molecules.
2. Innovative sources of bioactives: lichens and marine microorganisms
Study of metabolites extracted from lichens and marine microorganisms as antifungal, anticancer, and neuroprotective agents. The lichen species currently investigated belong to the Cladonia genus, while the marine organisms belong to the Amathia genus.
3. Ethnobotany: a look back to identify new bioactives
Investigation of the use of plants in traditional medicine, focusing on areas of high biodiversity. To enhance local biodiversity, many studies are conducted through interviews or analysis of ancient manuscripts. The selected species are then subjected to phytochemical and bioactivity studies.
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of Pavia), Experimental Neurology Unit (University of Milan-Bicocca), Department of Health Sciences, “S. Venuta” Campus (Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro), CREA Research Center for Horticultural and Ornamental Crops (Sanremo), Department of Environmental Biology (Sapienza University of Rome), Faculty of Science of Tunis, University of Coimbra (Portugal), University of Garmian (Kurdistan regional, Iraq).
Cavalloro, V., Marrubini, G., Rossino, G., Martino, E., & Collina, S. (2024) Combining DoE and MASE: a winning strategy for the isolation of natural bioactive compounds from plant material. Green Chemistry, 26, 244-258.
Cavalloro, V.; Pagliari, S.; Gosetti, F.; Campone, L.; Sottani, C.; Collina, S.; Martino, E.; & Robustelli della Cuna, F.S. (2024) Qualitative Metabolite Profiling of Orchis purpurea Huds. by GC and UHPLC/MS Approaches. Plants, 13, 1064.
Cavalloro, V., Marchesi, N., Linciano, P., Rossi, D., Campagnoli, L.I.M., Fossati, A., Mahmood Ahmed, K., Malacrida, A., Miloso, M., Mazzeo, G., Abbate, S., Longhi, G., Ambrosio, F.A., Costa, G., Alcaro, S., Pascale, A., Martino, E., & Collina, S. (2024) Neurodegeneration: can metabolites from Eremurus persicus help? Front. Pharmacol., 15, 1309766.
Cavalloro, V., Soddu, F., Baroni, S., Robustelli della Cuna, F.S., Tavazzi, E., Martino, E., & Collina S. (2023) Teodorico Borgognoni’s Formulary for Thirteenth Century Anesthetic Preparations. Life, 13, 1913.
Listro, R., Milli, G., Pellegrini, A., Motta, C., Cavalloro, V., Martino, E., Kirchmair, J., Pietrocola, G., Rossi, D., Linciano, P., & Collina S. (2023) Structural Insights into the Ligand–LsrK Kinase Binding Mode: A Step Forward in the Discovery of Novel Antimicrobial Agents. Molecules, 28, 2542.
Martino, E., Granata, M.U., Catoni, R., Cavalloro, V.; Bracco, F. (2022) New insight into pectin effects on mesophyll conductance in four species of deciduous Forest. Natural product research, 36(17), 2246.
Cavalloro, V., Robustelli della Cuna, F.S., Quai, E., Preda, S., Bracco, F., Martino E., & Collina S. (2022) Walking around the Autonomous Province of Trento (Italy): An Ethnobotanical Investigation. Plants, 11(17), 2246.
Malacrida, A., Cavalloro, V., Martino, E., Costa, G., Ambrosio, F.A., Alcaro, S., Rigolio, R., Cassetti, A., Miloso, M., & Collina, S. (2021) Anti-Multiple Myeloma Potential of Secondary Metabolites from Hibiscus sabdariffa—Part 2. Molecules, 26, 6596.
Cavalloro, V., Marrubini, G., Stabile, R.; Rossi, D.; Linciano, P.; Gheza, G., Assini, S., Martino, E., & Collina S. (2021) Microwave-Assisted Extraction and HPLC-UV-CD Determination of (S)-usnic Acid in Cladonia foliacea. Molecules, 26(2), 455.
Vigani, B., Valentino, C., Cavalloro, V., Catenacci, L., Sorrenti, M., Sandri, G., Bonferoni, M.C.,
Bozzi, C., Collina, S., Rossi, S. & Ferrari, F. (2021) Gellan-Based Composite System as a Potential Tool for the Treatment of Nervous Tissue Injuries: Cross-Linked Electrospun Nanofibers Embedded in a RC-33-Loaded Freeze-Dried Matrix. Pharmaceutics, 13(2), 164.
Granata, M.U., Bracco, F., Catoni, R., Cavalloro, V., & Martino E. (2021) Secondary metabolites profile and physiological leaf traits in wild and cultivated Corylus avellana under different nutritional status. Natural product and research, 35(18): 3100-3107.
Cavalloro, V., Bracco, F., Collina, S., & Martino E. (2020) A Focus on Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Prunus lycioides (=Amygdalus lycioides). Mini-review in medicinal chemistry, 20(20), 2207-2214.
Malacrida, A., Cavalloro, V., Martino, E., Cassetti, A., Nicolini, G., Rigolio, R., Cavaletti, G., Mannucci, B., Vasile, F., Di Giacomo, M., Collina, S., & Miloso M. (2019) Anti-Multiple Myeloma Potential of Secondary Metabolites from Hibiscus sabdariffa. Molecules, 25(13), 1-15.
Martino, E., Della Volpe, S., Cavalloro, V., Amri, B., Bettaeib Been Kaab, L., Marrubini, G., Rossi, D., & Collina S. (2019) The use of a microwave‐assisted solvent extraction coupled with HPLC‐UV/PAD to assess the quality of Marrubium vulgare L. (white horehound) herbal raw material. Phytochemical Analysis, 30, 277-384.