1. Study of medicinal and food plants, analysis of different classes of specialized metabolites in plants and derived products and evaluation of in vitro bioassays. This research field involves the preparation of raw extracts and fractions enriched in particular classes of specialized metabolites, their analysis through spectrophotometric and chromatographic techniques, and the evaluation of in vitro antioxidant power and other enzyme activities.
2. Study of the response of plants to abiotic stress and of the role of plant extracts as biostimulants in modulating stress responses. In particular, extracts prepared from waste products from the processing of different plant matrices are studied for their potential use as biostimulants, i.e. agents that are able to improve the growth and development performance of plants, and to modulate the response of the plant itself abiotic stress