Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry Research Article of the Year Award 2026

What inspired you to pursue your particular area of research?

I have always been fascinated by the mechanisms that nature has developed over millions of years of evolution. My research is driven by a desire to understand how microorganisms and plants interact with each other, particularly the strategies they use in biological competition, to communicate and survive in complex environments. Microbial–microbial and plant–host interactions are incredibly sophisticated, and many of these interactions are mediated by small molecules produced by the organisms themselves, many of which are known as secondary metabolites, or natural products.

Natural products are, in many ways, nature’s chemical language. They allow organisms in mechanisms of defense, to establish symbioses, colonize hosts, or inhibit competitors. What inspires me most is uncovering the chemistry hidden within these ecological strategies, discovering the molecules involved, understanding how they are biosynthesized, and revealing their biological roles.

By studying these systems, we not only gain a deeper understanding of how nature works, but we can also uncover new bioactive compounds and biochemical mechanisms that may inspire future applications in agriculture, medicine, and biotechnology.

What’s next for your research?

Building on the findings of our recent work (Decoding the Penicillium italicum–Citrus Interaction: Untargeted Metabolomics Sheds Light on a Neglected Postharvest Pathogen), the next step in our research is to translate molecular insights into practical strategies for plant disease management.

In this study, we showed that the citrus pathogen Penicillium italicum produces specialized metabolites during infection, including cyclic peptides such as brevianamide F, which may help the fungus to compete with other microorganisms in the fruit microbiome and facilitate colonization. By combining metabolomics, mass spectrometry imaging, and chemical synthesis, we were able to uncover how fungal natural products contribute to virulence and microbial interactions during infection.

Moving forward, our research aims to deepen the understanding of the chemical dialogue between plant hosts, pathogens, and associated microbiota. In particular, we are interested in identifying the biosynthetic pathways and ecological roles of fungal secondary metabolites involved in infection. These studies will help reveal molecular targets that can be exploited to disrupt pathogen colonization or to promote beneficial microbial interactions.

Ultimately, our goal is to use this knowledge to develop new and safer strategies to control fungal diseases in agriculture. Current control methods for postharvest pathogens such as P. italicum rely heavily on synthetic fungicides, which can lead to environmental contamination and the emergence of resistant strains. By understanding the chemistry underlying pathogen virulence and microbial competition, we hope to design alternative approaches—such as natural-product-based treatments, microbiome-informed biocontrol strategies, or targeted inhibitors—that are both effective and environmentally sustainable.

What do you consider to be the most important advances in your field in the past five years?

In the past five years, one of the most important advances in our field has been the integration of multi-omics approaches—particularly genomics, metabolomics, and molecular genetics—to uncover the functional roles of fungal secondary metabolites in plant–pathogen interactions. These tools now allow us to directly connect biosynthetic gene clusters with the metabolites they produce and with their biological roles during infection. As highlighted in our recent work published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, this integrated approach is transforming our understanding of fungal pathogenicity by revealing how secondary metabolism contributes to virulence and host colonization.

At the same time, advances in genome mining and gene manipulation have enabled the discovery and characterization of previously hidden natural products, demonstrating that fungal metabolites are key chemical mediators of ecological interactions rather than simple metabolic by-products.

Together, these developments are shifting the field toward a more mechanistic understanding of how chemical diversity drives plant–microbe interactions and are opening new opportunities to identify natural compounds and pathways that can inspire safer and more sustainable strategies for controlling fungal diseases in agriculture.

What inspired you to pursue your particular area of research?

Neurodegenerative diseases are among the most important public health challenges in developed countries, and their prevalence is expected to rise as life expectancy increases. Our interest in this field stems from a fundamental scientific question that our research group has been addressing for many years: whether the phenolic compounds (polyphenols) present in plant-based foods may partly explain the well-known association between diets rich in fruits and vegetables and a lower incidence of chronic diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

One particularly motivating challenge is that many polyphenols have low bioavailability and do not reach target tissues, such as the brain, in the same form in which they are present in foods. This has led us to focus on the role of circulating metabolites, which are generated after the consumption of polyphenols and may actually be responsible for the biological effects attributed to polyphenol-rich foods.

Our current research explores this question in the context of the Mediterranean diet. Specifically, we aim to determine whether metabolites derived from polyphenols in foods such as pomegranate, citrus fruits, grapes, and olives can reach the brain, cross the blood–brain barrier, and exert neuroprotective effects. To address this, we use multidisciplinary approaches combining analytical chemistry, molecular biology, and both cellular and animal models under physiologically relevant conditions.

Ultimately, what motivates this research is the possibility of establishing clear cause-and-effect relationships between diet and brain health, helping to better understand how dietary components may contribute to the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.

What’s next for your research?

At this stage, our main focus is to continue advancing scientific knowledge on the relationship between dietary bioactive compounds, in this case polyphenols, and brain health.

In our current research, we are evaluating the neuroprotective activity of circulating phenolic metabolites that are able to reach the brain at physiologically relevant concentrations. Using cellular models that mimic neurodegenerative processes, we are investigating their biological activity and mechanisms of action. In parallel, representative mixtures of these circulating metabolites are being tested in animal models of neuroinflammation to assess their potential protective effects on markers of neuroinflammation and locomotor impairment. This will allow us to establish clear cause-and-effect relationships between circulating metabolites derived from dietary polyphenols and their potential neuroprotective effects.

Looking ahead, if our hypothesis is confirmed, these metabolites could represent promising candidates for the prevention or complementary management of neurodegenerative diseases and contribute to the development of new nutrition-based strategies to promote brain health and healthy aging. The future is very exciting.

What do you consider to be the most important advances in your field in the past five years?

Overall, the most important advances in the last five years involve the shift toward multi-target mechanistic understanding, the recognition of the gut–brain axis, the development of advanced delivery systems to enhance bioavailability, the discovery of new sustainable sources of bioactive compounds, and the integration of omics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to accelerate the development of food bioactives-derived neuroprotective agents.

In particular, increasing evidence shows that dietary bioactives such as polyphenols and other phytochemicals can modulate interconnected pathways related to oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction, which are key processes involved in neurodegenerative disorders. At the same time, advances in metabolomics, transcriptomics, and microbiome research have enabled a more comprehensive understanding of how these compounds interact with host metabolism and the gut microbiota to influence brain health. In addition, the development of nano-encapsulation and other delivery technologies has helped to overcome major limitations related to stability, bioavailability, and blood-brain barrier permeability of food bioactives.

Together, these advances are contributing to a more integrative and translational approach in the field, facilitating the design of personalized nutrition strategies aimed at preventing or slowing neurodegeneration.