The essential oils of Thymus vulgaris L., of Eavandula R.C. hybrid and Mentha piperita L. were tested in vitro against the pathogenic fungi Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn, Pythium ultimum Trow var. ultimum, Eusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc, Colletotrichum tindemuthianum (Sacc. & Magn.) Briosi & Cav.Ali the oils tested inhibited fungal growth. The most effective oil was that of thyme, with a fungicidal activity attributable to thymol, found in a concentration of 50.06% in the oil tested. SEM observations revealed that these oils cause degeneration of the fungal hyphae which appeared emptied of their cytoplasmic content.

In view of the pharmacological interest in phenolic substances, we have determined the total amount of anthocyanins and polyphenols present in the berries of several cultivars of Ribes, Rubus, and Vaccinium genera. The in vitro antiradical activity of the crude extracts on chemically-generated superoxide radicals as well as the inhibitory activity towards the enzyme xanthine oxidase were studied. All the crude extracts examined showed a remarkably high activity towards chemically-generated superoxide radicals. The activities were greater than those expected on the basis of the quantities of anthocyanins and polyphenols present in the samples. Furthermore, the extracts showed a certain inhibitory activity towards xanthine oxidase. Ribes nigrum extracts exhibit the highest activity, being the richest in both anthocyanins and polyphenols. On the other hand, Ribes rubrum extracts seem to contain more active substances than the other crude extracts.

Starting from the inhibitory activity of the flavonoid Quercetin, a series of 4H-1-benzopyran-4-one derivatives was synthesized and tested for inhibition of aldose reductase, an enzyme involved in the appearance of diabetic complications. Some of the compounds obtained display inhibitory activity similar to that of Sorbinil but are more selective than Quercetin and Sorbinil with respect to the closely related enzyme, aldehyde reductase, and also possess antioxidant activity. Remarkably, these compounds possess higher pKa values than carboxylic acids, a characteristic which could make the pharmacokinetics of these compounds very interesting. Molecular modeling investigations on the structures of inhibitors bound at the active site of aldose reductase were performed in order to suggest how these new inhibitors might bind to the enzyme and also to interpret structure-activity relationships.

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