Marrubium vulgare is a plant with high bioactive potential. It contains marrubiin, a labdane diterpene that is characteristic for this genus, as well as a complex mixture of phenolic compounds. According to numerous studies, M. vulgare acts as a good antioxidant agent, and due to this, it could potentially be useful in treatments of cancer, diabetes mellitus, and liver diseases. In addition, its anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, antihypertensive, hypolipidemic, and sedative potential are discussed. Apart from that, its antimicrobial activity, especially against Gram+ bacteria, fungi, herpes simplex virus, and parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii, Trichomonas vaginalis, and Plasmodium berghei-berghei was recorded. Additionally, it could be used as a chicken lice repellent, herbicide, and natural insecticide against mosquito larvae and natural molluscicide. In veterinary medicine, M. vulgare can be used as an anthelmintic against the eggs and larvae of bovine strongyles parasites, and as an antibiotic against bovine mastitis caused by resistant bacterial strains. Due to the mentioned benefits, there is a tendency for the cultivation of M. vulgare in order to ensure high-quality raw material, but more firm scientific evidence and well-designed clinical trials are necessary for the well-established use of M. vulgare herb and its preparations.

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BACKGROUND: Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the most controversial plants. So far, its multiple application in industry for the production of fabrics, paper and construction materials is known. Today, there is increasing interest in its application for medical purposes, as opposed to its opiate activity. In addition to well-known cannabinoids, the presence of polyphenolic compounds and their antioxidant and reductive abilities are of great importance. Therefore the extraction of both constituents, polyphenolics and cannabinoids ( 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)), of industrial hemp was carried out using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). RESULTS: The effects of different extraction parameters, namely ethanol concentration (30, 50 and 70% v/v), extraction time(10, 20 and 30 min) and solid/liquid ratio (5, 10 and 15 g mL −1 ), on extraction yield, total phenol content, total flavonoid content, antioxidant activity, reductive capacity, CBD content and THC content were investigated using response surface methodology. For the experimental design, a Box-Behnken design was chosen. In the obtained extracts, the following ranges of targeted compounds were detected: total phenols from 0.8499 to 2.7060 mg gallic acid equivalent mL −1 , total flavonoids from 0.4707 to 1.4246 mg catechin equivalent mL −1 , THC from 0.0339 to 0.0637 mg mL −1 and CBD from 0.2243 to 1.8415 mg mL −1 . Antioxidant activity ranged from 0.0009 to 0.2079 mL mL −1 , while reductive capacity ranged from 0.0021 to 0.0066 mL mL −1 .CONCLUSION: MAE proved to be a simple, efficient, fast and low environmental impact method for obtaining polyphenols and cannabinoids from C. sativa L. Cannabis herb, which presents a by-product of fiber and cannabis product, showed to be a promising source of bioactive compounds. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Model fittingAccording to the literature, C. sativa has been mostly extracted by conventional extraction methods by application of different J Chem Technol Biotechnol 2020; 95: 831-839

We investigated the concentration of Aluminium (Al), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Nickel (Ni) and Zinc (Zn) in the root and aboveground organs of four halophyte species (Salicornia europaea, Suaeda maritima, Salsola soda and Halimione portulacoides), as well as in the soil from maritime and inland saline areas. The aim of our research was to evaluate the capability of some halophyte species to absorb different heavy metals and to detect differentiation of heavy metal accumulation within populations from inland and maritime saline areas. Generally, the plant roots had significantly higher concentrations of metals when compared to stems and leaves. Zinc was the only metal with concentrations significantly higher in the leaves than in the root and stem. Populations from maritime saline areas had higher trace root and stem metal concentrations than populations from inland saline areas. Excepting zinc, populations from inland saline areas had higher heavy metal concentrations in the leaves. The factors that affected metal accumulation by halophytes included the percentage of salt in the soil. We also discuss the potential use of these halophytes in phytoremediation.

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