Abstract

Bioeconomics and the development of modern nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetology industries is increasingly based on the search for active principles used ancestrally by different human cultures worldwide. In this context, the studies of identification and characterization of the so-called ‘new molecules’ are mainly carried out on organisms originating from both conserved and wild biodiversity, as well as from a wide spectrum of biological resources that the peasant populations have been able to maintain throughout centuries. Considering the lessons learnt in this field, the development of novel molecules related to useful functions should be focused on and stem from the experiences gained from previous approaches. Moreover, each new challenge must be subjected to ethical scrutiny where the human being plays the main role in the exploitation of biodiversity and the environment, which, as it is increasingly evident, threatens and jeopardizes the sustainable development of societies. We conclude the necessity to establish a global unified ethical perspective towards the use of biodiversity, as well of the new technological developments based in ancient human traditions