The nutritional and antioxidant composition of four tomato Portuguese farmer' varieties widely cultivated in homegardens was determined. The analysed components included macronutrients, individual profiles of sugars and fatty acids by chromatographic techniques, hydrophilic antioxidants such as vitamin C, phenolics, flavonols and anthocyanins, and lipophilic antioxidants such as tocopherols, β-carotene and lycopene.Furthermore, the antioxidant activity was evaluated through DPPH scavenging activity, reducing power, β-carotene bleaching inhibition and TBARS formation inhibition. One of the four varieties, which is locally known as round tomato or potato tomato, proved to be the most powerful in antioxidant activity (EC 50 values ≤ 1.63 mg/ml), phenolic compounds (phenolics 31.23 mg ClAE/g extract, flavonols 6.36 mg QE/g extract and anthocyanins 3.45 mg ME/g extract) and carotenoids (β-carotene 0.51 mg/100 g and lycopene 9.49 mg/100 g), while the so-called yellow tomato variety revealed interesting nutritional composition, including higher fructose (3.42 g/100 g), glucose (3.18 g/100 g), α-linolenic acid (15.53%) and total tocopherols (1.44 mg/100 g) levels. Overall, these farmer' varieties of garden tomato cultivated in the northeastern Portuguese region could contribute as sources of important antioxidants related to the prevention of chronic diseases associated to oxidative stress, such as cancer and coronary artery disease .

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The antioxidant activity and phytochemical composition (ascorbic acid, free sugars and phenolic compounds) of decoctions and infusions of wild and commercial samples of Tuberaria lignosa (Sweet) Samp. (Fam. Cistaceae) aerial parts were evaluated and compared. Among wild samples, the effects of the drying method (freeze or shadedrying) on those parameters were studied. Infusion of the freeze-dried wild sample gave the highest levels of sugars, while infusion of shade-dried wild sample and decoction of the freeze-dried sample presented higher ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds content (including ellagitanins and flavonoids) than the other samples. The last two samples also revealed higher antioxidant activity and, in some cases, even higher than trolox.Decoctions gave lower amounts of disaccharides than infusions, which seemed to be hydrolyzed increasing the content in monosaccharides in the first samples. Commercial samples showed the lowest content in phenolic compounds, mainly in ellagitanins and flavonoids, as also the lowest antioxidant activity. This work gives scientific evidences to the traditional medicinal uses of wild Tuberaria lignosa, highlighting the interest of its decoctions and infusions as bioactive compounds source and functional beverages.

Currently, opportunistic fungal infections are considered a serious problem regarding public health. Despite the advances towards the synthesis of new antifungal agents, an increasing incidence of drug-resistant microorganisms has been observed. In this sense, other alternatives are necessary. In the present work, the antifungal activity of extracts from ten different plants, commonly used in folk medicine, were evaluated against nineteen Candida strains, including C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis and C. tropicalis species. Although the majority of the extracts had no antimicrobial effect, Juglans regia extract was very effective, exerting an inhibitory effect against all the tested Candida strains, while Eucalyptus globulus was effective against seventeen of them. Pterospartum tridentatum and Rubus ulmifolius presented similar antifungal effects, being effective against six Candida strains. The diameter of halo ranged, respectively, between 9-14 mm and 9-21 mm to the mentioned plant extracts, and the MIC 50 values evidenced mainly a fungistatic activity. Both extracts showed similar MIC 50 values for C. albicans strains, while C. parapsilosis and C. glabrata were more sensible to E. globulus. Otherwise, all the C. tropicalis strains were more sensible to J. regia. Overall, hydromethanolic plant extracts could constitute promissory alternatives to the traditional antifungal agents.

Crataegus monogyna has been extensively studied due to its various alleged health benefits. This study aimed to determine the human tumour cells growth inhibitory activity of phenolic extracts of its flower buds and fruits in three phenological stages, and further characterize the extracts by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS. Flower bud extract showed the highest antiproliferative activity as indicated by the lowest GI 50 values obtained in all the tested cell lines: MCF-7, breast adenocarcinoma; NCI-H460, nonsmall cell lung cancer; HeLa, cervical carcinoma; HepG2, hepatocellular carcinoma.Furthermore, porcine liver primary cell culture (PLP2) was used to evaluate toxicity to non-tumour cells. Flavonoids, particularly flavonols and flavones (higher in flower buds) and proanthocyanidins (higher in unripe fruits) were the main classes in the studied samples. Phenolic acids (mainly hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives) were also detected in significant amounts, especially in flower bud extract. Regarding anthocyanins, over ripened fruits gave the highest content. The higher bioactivity observed in flower buds might be related with its higher content in phenolic compounds.