Physiology and Cultivation of Medicinal Plants

The first part of the course aims to provide students with basic knowledge of the main biochemical and physiological processes of plants, including photosynthesis, mineral nutrition, development and secondary metabolism. The educational activity proposes the learning of the relationships between primary and secondary metabolism and the main plant-environment interactions. These topics are explored in relation to the productivity and quality of medicinal plants, providing useful concepts for the professions that the graduate can access.
The second part of the course aims to present the production of medicinal plants, highlighting its characteristics, problems and perspectives. The primary objective of the course is to provide basic knowledge of the cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plants, with particular reference to organic farming techniques, highlighting the effects that agricultural practices can have on the quality of production. For this purpose, some of the most commonly cultivated species will be presented in detail, in order to allow the acquisition of specific skills regarding their propagation and cultivation.

At the end of the course, students will be required to have a theoretical knowledge of the biochemical and physiological processes that support plant growth and development and that determine the capability of plants to adapt to agricultural and environmental conditions. Knowledge of the biosynthetic pathways of the main plant secondary metabolites and their physiological functions during plant interactions with the ecosystem will also be required. Students will have had to acquire tools to understand how the main agro-environmental factors affect the productivity and content of metabolites of interest in medicinal plants. Moreover, the students will acquire knowledge of the characteristics and issues related to the sector of medicinal plant production and will achieve a basic preparation regarding the cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plants, with the aim of maximizing both quantitative and qualitative production while respecting the environment. It will be required the ability to expose the knowledge acquired during the oral exam using the correct terminology.