Aromatic plant species of genus Thymus are important medicinal plants, highly recommended due to a range of therapeutic properties of their essential oil (thyme oil): antirheumatic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antimicrobial, cardiac, carminative, diuretic and expectorant. Oil is also beneficial in boosting the immune system, and helps to fight colds, flu, infectious diseases and chills. It is proved to be a urinary antiseptic, being very helpful for cystitis and urethritis. Scientific validation of traditional uses, and phytochemical and bioactivity evaluation of essential oils from Thymus serpyllum, Thymus algeriensis and Thymus vulgaris was performed. GC/MS analysis revealed thymol as major component of T. algeriensis, T. vulgaris and T.serpyllum, with a contribution of 56.02%, 48.92% and 38.50%, respectively. The three essential oils (EOs) exhibited a significant antimicrobial activity against all the tested strains, T. serpyllum oil being the most potent (MIC 2.5-5 µg/mL, MBC 5-10 µg/mL; MIC 1-2 µg/mL, MFC 2-4 µg/mL). In addition, T. serpyllum oil revealed the highest antioxidant activity in all the assays and was also the most effective one against all the tested cell lines, presenting GI 50 values of 7.02-52.69 µg/mL. Moreover, the EOs did not show any toxicity, at the tested concentrations (<400 µg/mL), for porcine liver primary cell culture. In addition to their traditional use in food and cosmetics, the great potential of the tested Thymus essential oils for application in oral disease and anticancer treatments, encourage further investigation.

Bee bread is a mixture of pollen pellets, honey and lactic acid bacteria, and the basis of food in the hive. In the present study, a Moroccan bee bread has been analyzed concerning the palynological analysis, nutritional value and chemical composition (free sugars, organic acids, mineral composition, fatty acid, tocopherols and polyphenols); in vitro antioxidant activity and antimicrobial activity screened against pathogenic bacteria and fungi were also evaluated. The studied bee bread was a good source of protein (19.96 ± 0.08 g/100 g), total free sugars (18 ± 1 g/100 g), macroelements and microelements content, revealed high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (64.7 ± 0.4%), tocopherols (10.9 ± 0.9 mg/100 g) and natural antioxidants, such as flavonol glycoside derivatives, being isorhamnetin-O-hexosyl-O-rutinoside the major phenolic compound present. The bee bread showed antioxidant activity and effectiveness against all the bacteria and fungi tested. This work contributes to the chemical and bioactive knowledge of this unexplored natural product.

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Lovage is a source of nutrients, volatiles and bioactive compounds, and its extracts exhibit interesting antioxidant potential and bacteriostatic activity against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

Centaurea raphanina subsp. mixta (DC.) Runemark is a wild edible species endemic to Greece. This study evaluated the chemical composition and bioactive properties of wild and cultivated C. raphanina subsp. mixta plants. Wild plants had higher nutritional value than cultivated ones, whereas cultivated plants contained more tocopherols. Glucose and sucrose were higher in cultivated plants and trehalose in wild ones. Oxalic and total organic acids were detected in higher amounts in cultivated samples. The main fatty acids were α-linolenic, linoleic and palmitic acid, while wild plants were richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Two pinocembrin derivatives were the main phenolic compounds being detected in higher amounts in wild plants. Regarding the antioxidant activity, wild and cultivated plants were more effective in the oxidative haemolysis (OxHLIA) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assays, respectively. Moreover, both extracts showed moderate cytotoxicity in non-tumor cell lines (PLP2), while cultivated plants were more effective against cervical carcinoma (HeLa), breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and non-small lung cancer (NCI-H460) cell lines. Finally, wild plants showed higher antimicrobial activity than cultivated plants against specific pathogens. In conclusion, the cultivation of C. raphanina subsp. mixta showed promising results in terms of tocopherols content and antiproliferative effects, however further research is needed to decrease oxalic acid content.

Chemical composition and biological properties of aqueous and ethanolic extracts ofInonotus obliquus (Pers.:Fr.) Pilat from different origins, i.e. of Finland, Russia, and Thailand, were studied. Concerning biological activity, antimicrobial, antiqourum, antioxidative, and antitumor and cytotoxic effects were tested. Oxalic acid was found as the main organic acid, with the highest amount in Russian aqueous extract. Gallic, protocatechuic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids were detected in all samples. I. obliquus extracts showed high antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. Extracts were tested at subMIC for anti-quorum sensing (AQS) activity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and all of them showed definite AQS activity. The assays were done using twitching and swarming of bacterial cultures, as well as the amount of produced pyocyanin as QS parameters. All the extracts possessed good antitumor effect on four cells lines and did not show hepatotoxicity on porcine liver primary cells designed as PLP2. As the I. obliquus presence in Chaga conks is limited, further purification is necessary to draw quantitative conclusions. The presence of AQS activity in medicinal mushrooms suggests a broader anti-infectious disease protection than only immunomodulatory effects.

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an annual weed rich in omega-3 fatty acids which is consumed for its edible leaves and stems. In the present study six different genotypes of common purslane (A-F) were evaluated for their nutritional value and chemical composition. Nutritional value and chemical composition depended on genotype. Oxalic acid content was the lowest for genotype D, whereas genotypes E and F are more promising for commercial cultivation, since they have low oxalic acid content. Genotype E had a very good antioxidant profile and a balanced composition of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Regarding yield, genotype A had the highest yield comparing to the other genotypes, whereas commercial varieties (E and F) did not differ from genotypes B and C. This study provides new information regarding common purslane bioactive compounds as affected by genotype and could be further implemented in food industry for products of high quality and increased added value.

Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq. ex Fr.) P. Kumm. is the third most produced edible mushroom worldwide, due to its ability to colonise and degrade a large variety of lignocellulosic substrates. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the chemical composition of fruiting bodies of P. ostreatus grown on blank and printed paper substrates, in comparison with samples grown on oat straw (control). The nutritional properties of the control sample were similar to values reported in the literature, while the chemical composition of the samples obtained using paper scraps, either blank or printed, was highly satisfactory. The results obtained validated the nutritional characteristics of the samples, highlighting a profitable means to recycle paper.