Euphorbia genus (Euphorbiaceae family), which is the third largest genus of angiosperm plants comprising ca. 2000 recognized species, is used all over the world in traditional medicine, especially in the traditional Chinese medicine. Members of this taxa are promptly recognizable by their specialized inflorescences and latex. In this review, an overview of Euphorbia-derived natural products such as essential oils, extracts, and pure compounds, active in a broad range of biological activities, and with potential usages in health maintenance, is described. The chemical composition of essential oils from Euphorbia species revealed the presence of more than 80 phytochemicals, mainly oxygenated sesquiterpenes and sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons, while Euphorbia extracts contain secondary metabolites such as sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, sterols, flavonoids, and other polyphenols. The extracts and secondary metabolites from Euphorbia plants may act as active principles of medicines for the treatment of many human ailments, mainly inflammation, cancer, and microbial infections. Besides, Euphorbia-derived products have great potential as a source of bioactive extracts and pure compounds, which can be used to promote longevity with more health.

There has been a significant increase in the development of edible films and coatings in recent times, and this is expected to have a significant impact on the quality of fruit and vegetables in the coming years. Consumers expect fresh fruit and vegetables free from pesticide residues, with high quality, nutritional value and an extended shelf life. The application of coatings and edible films to fruits and vegetables represents an environmentally friendly approach to an innovative solution to this problem. Coatings and edible films can act as ecological and biodegradable packaging. The coating strategy involves a combination of natural biopolymers and appropriate preservation methods. The article presents the applicability, trends and perspectives of polysaccharide coatings and edible films and their impact on the quality of fruit and vegetables, providing an understanding of their main functions and benefits. Numerous studies show that natural polysaccharides are well suited for use as packaging material for fresh fruit and vegetables and can often be an important alternative to synthetic compounds. Natural polymer materials are a good barrier to oxygen and carbon dioxide; however, they are characterised by excessive solubility in the water environment, water vapour permeability and low extensibility. The properties of edible coatings can be modified by the addition of plasticisers, surfactants, cross-linkers, antimicrobial agents, functional additives, nanosilver particles or fruit and vegetable residues. The use of an electric field is also a promising technology here. The use of polysaccharides for the preparation of edible films and coatings is justified not only by the possibility of reducing the consumption of packaging made of synthetic polymer materials but also by the fact that the production of some natural polymers can be made using waste products generated during the processing of food raw materials.

Crop performance and yield are the results of genotypic expression as modulated by continuous interaction with the environment. Among the environmental factors, water is one of the most important, which limits the crop production on a global basis. Water resources in the world are steadily diminishing, and in many areas, including Poland, more frequent periods of drought are observed. There are many problems that are specifically related to water scarcity: an extremely dynamic nature of plant water status, relationship to the severity of the effects of water, time stress during ontogeny of plants, and the interaction of water stress with other environmental variables. The paper presents a review of recent literature on the effect of the grasses to drought stress at the level of physiological processes and the possibility of yielding. A better understanding of how long-term growth and yield are affected by water stress should aid in improving irrigation efficiency and practices, in modifying plants for more efficient water use, and in developing effective dryland agriculture.

The impact of mild drought stress (3 weeks at 40 % field water capacity) on yield, physiological processes, accumulation of proline and phenolic compounds and forage quality parameters in forage grasses was evaluated in pot experiments. During four different growing periods, the effects of water deficit were assessed in nine varieties from five species (Lolium perenne, Lolium multiflorum, Festuca pratensis, Festuca arundinacea and Festulolium braunii). All measured parameters were affected by drought stress in the different cuts. Photosynthesis, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and dry matter yield were significantly lower in drought stress than under well-watered conditions in all varieties. Higher wateruse efficiency was only observed during the first and fourth drought period, while this was not the case in the second and third. Mild drought stress significantly increased the content of proline, phenolic acid, flavonoids, water-soluble carbohydrates and protein. All tested grasses showed also an increase of organic matter digestibility and cell wall digestibility under drought stress conditions.

Legume–grass mixtures showed a weaker response to adverse environmental conditions than to monocultures. A yield decrease due to the scarcity of water is well documented, while the impact on the food value is inconsistent. Therefore, we undertook studies to assess the impact of water deficit in the soil on the content of the nutrients in alfalfa and Festulolium grown in monoculture and in mixture. A pot experiment was carried out in 2012–2014 in a completely randomized design, with four replications. The research was carried out at two levels of soil moisture: 70% field water capacity FWC (optimal conditions) and 40% FWC (drought stress). We found that the effect of drought stress on the food value of alfalfa and Festulolium was smaller than on the yield. Water deficit caused a significant yield decrease, the biggest in alfalfa in monoculture. Drought stress significantly reduced the content of crude fibre, the contents of crude protein and crude fat tended to increase. The influence of stress on water‐soluble carbohydrates content was not determined. Nutrient content was varied depending on a species. Introducing alfalfa as a component to a mixture with Festulolium caused a significant yield increase and improved the nutritional value of dry matter.