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Thirty-six different extracts of six herbs and aromatic plants (fennel, common melilot, milfoil, lavandin cv. Super, spike lavender, and tarragon) were evaluated for their radical scavenging activity by the DPPH*, NBT/hypoxanthine superoxide, and *OH/luminol chemiluminescence methods, and for their antioxidant activity by the beta-carotene blenching test. The total phenolic content was also determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The plant material included cultivated plants and their wastes after being distilled for essential oils. Both remarkably high phenolic content and radical scavenging activities were found for the ethyl acetate and dichloromethane fractions among the different plant extracts. In general, the distilled plant material was found to exhibit a higher phenolic content as well as antioxidant and radical scavenging activities than the nondistilled material. Ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts, and even some crude extract, of both distilled and nondistilled plants exhibited activities comparable to those of commercial extracts/compounds, thus making it possible to consider some of them as a potential source of antioxidants of natural origin.

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Liquid chromatography (LC) diode array detection (DAD) coupled to negative electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) was used for the rapid and sensitive identification of water-soluble phenolic compounds in fennel waste. The plant material was first extracted and then chromatographed on Sephadex LH-20 to afford seven fractions, each of them being subjected to LC-MS analysis. Identification of the compounds was carried out by interpretation of UV, MS, and MS/MS spectra. Forty-two phenolic substances were identified, 27 of which had not previously been reported in fennel, including hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives, flavonoid glycosides, and flavonoid aglycons.

25 Amaryllidaceae alkaloids belonging to different skeletal types were evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against one murine non-tumoral cell line (LMTK) and two human tumoral cell lines (Molt4 and HepG2) according to established protocols. Significant differences of activity related with the type of skeleton of the tested alkaloids could be observed. Pretazettine (22) was among the most active compound among the 25 tested alkaloids on the Molt4 lymphoid cells, but was inactive against HepG2 hepatoma. On the other hand, lycorenine (11) was found to be the most cytotoxic compound against HepG2 hepatoma, even though it appears to be active against Molt4 cells. Almost all of the tested alkaloids showed cytotoxic activity against fibroblastic LMTK cells. Only mesembrenone (25) showed some specificity against Molt4 cells in comparison to LMTK cells.

The occurrence of phenolic compounds in apple residues resulting from the juice industry was investigated to provide an alternative use for this raw material. For the identification of these compounds, liquid chromatography coupled to ionspray mass spectrometry in tandem mode (LC/MS/MS) with negative ion detection was used. The residues were first extracted and then chromatographed on Sephadex LH-20 to yield 13 fractions. Positive identification of the compounds was based on their retention times and mass spectra in full scan mode (MS), and in different MS/MS modes (product ion scan, precursor ion scan and neutral loss scan). In this way, 60 compounds, including cinnamic and benzoic acid derivatives and flavonoids, were identified, some of them not previously reported in apple waste.

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