Ricerc@Sapienza

Sinceancienttimes,medicinalplantshavetraditionallybeenusedforthetreatment of different diseases. Nowadays, plants are considered a valuable source of unique natural compounds used in the development of antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticancerous,andantimicrobialdrugs.Bacteria,fungi,andvirusesareresponsible for a range of human diseases. Microbial invasion and its virulence can cause damage to the host cells. Effective antimicrobials have been developed over the years; however, a dramatic increase in resistance to antimicrobial drugs has been observed. The resistance to these drugs has also led to the reemergence of old infectious diseases. Oxidative stress is characterized as an imbalance between the productionofreactivespeciesandantioxidantdefenseactivity,anditsenhancedstate hasbeenassociatedwithmanyofthechronicdiseasessuchascancer,diabetes,and neurodegenerativeandcardiovasculardiseases.Manystudieshaveinvestigatedthe antioxidant properties of natural products, but despite the large number of natural products that are currently studied, the search for new natural compounds with antimicrobialandantioxidantactivitiesstillremainsagrowingresearcharea.