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Honey is a natural product widely consumed all over the world due to its relationship with healthy benefits. Additionally, environmental and ethical issues have a higher weight in the consumer's choice to buy honey as a natural product. Following the high demand of this product, several approaches have been suggested and developed aiming at the assessment of honey's quality and authenticity. Target approaches, such as pollen analysis, phenolic compounds, sugars, volatile compounds, organic acids, proteins, amino acids, minerals, and trace elements, showed an efficacy, particularly concerning the honey origin. However, a special highlight is given to DNA markers, due to their useful applicability in environmental and biodiversity studies, besides the geographical, botanical, and entomological origins. Different DNA target genes were already explored for addressing diverse sources of honey DNA, with DNA metabarcoding attaining a relevant importance. This review aims to describe the latest advances on DNA-based methods applied in honey related studies, identifying the research needs for the development of new and additional required methodologies, and to select the most adequate tools for future research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is well-known among neurodegenerative diseases for the decline of cognitive functions, making overall daily tasks difficult or impossible. The disease prevails as the most common form of dementia and remains without a well-defined etiology. Being considered a disease of multifactorial origin, current targeted treatments have only managed to reduce or control symptoms, and to date, only two drugs are close to being able to halt its progression. For decades, natural compounds produced by living organisms have been at the forefront of research for new therapies. Mushrooms, which are well-known for their nutritional and medicinal properties, have also been studied for their potential use in the treatment of AD. Natural products derived from mushrooms have shown to be beneficial in several AD-related mechanisms, including the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and β-secretase (BACE 1); the prevention of amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregation and neurotoxicity; and the prevention of Tau expression and aggregation, as well as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Several studies in the literature relate mushrooms to neurodegenerative diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no publication that summarizes only AD data. In this context, this review aims to link the therapeutic potential of mushrooms to AD by compiling the anti-AD potential of different mushroom extracts or isolated compounds, targeting known AD-related mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]