Plant Polyphenol Profiles as a Tool for Traceability and Valuable Support to Biodiversity

The study of the secondary metabolite profile and in particular that of the polyphenolic metabolic pool, almost ubiquitous in the plant kingdom, represents an extraordinary tool for establishing traceability and typicalness of several raw plant materials, as well as of their processing products. The consciousness that this approach is intrinsically connected with plant biodiversity on one side, and the unceasing development of analytical-instrumental methodologies on the other side, allow us to achieve new implements to enhance old and new crops, and to obtain new insights for a better exploitation of food as a preventive and healthy tool. Polyphenol markers, belonging to different biomolecular metabolic components, are discussed for their taxonomic implications, for the origin and geographic discrimination, including the factors affecting their presence and amount, as well as their behavior in the post-harvest treatments, storage, and processing procedures.