Cassandra Detti

Background: Lavandula (Lamiaceae) includes numerous species, cultivars, and hybrids widely cultivated for both their ornamental traits and for functional uses in perfumery, nutrition, medicinal, and cosmetic applications. Objectives: This study characterized the phytochemical profiles of three species (Lavandula stoechas L., Lavandula latifolia Medik., and Lavandula angustifolia Mill.), two cultivars (L. stoechas ‘Alba’ L. and L. angustifolia ‘Krajova’ Mill.), and the interspecific hybrid Lavandula × intermedia ‘Alba’ Emeric ex Loisel. Methods: All grown species and cultivars were maintained under uniform environmental and harvested simultaneously, to provide a comparative assessment of their terpene and polyphenol profiles and content, as well as their associated antioxidant activity. Results: HPLC-DAD/QTOF-MS analysis revealed differences in flavonoid and hydroxycinnamic acid content among species and cultivars. The main compounds identified were glycosylated derivatives of coumaric, caffeic, and ferulic acids, along with luteolin and apigenin derivatives. L. latifolia Medik. exhibited the highest hydroxycinnamic acid content (5.306 ± 1.265 mg/g FW), whereas L. stoechas ‘Alba’ L. showed the highest flavonoid concentration (2.537 ± 0.192 mg/g FW). GC-MS analysis indicated that hydrocarbon and oxygenated monoterpenes were the predominant terpene classes, with the highest levels recorded in L. stoechas L. (1922.09 ± 144.12 ng/g FW oxygenated; 945.89 ± 159.26 ng/g FW hydrocarbon monoterpenes). Antioxidant activity, assessed via DPPH and FRAP assays, was significantly correlated with flavonoid content across species, cultivars, and the hybrid. Conclusions: Intraspecific and interspecific variability within the Lavandula genus influences antioxidant activity and determines its suitability for different applications.

Pistacia lentiscus L., commonly known as the mastic tree or lentisk, is a woody Mediterranean plant revered for its ecological relevance as well as for its extensive ethnobotanical heritage. Historically, the fruits and the resin of P. lentiscus have been widely utilized in traditional medicine, underscoring its important role in local healing practices. Given these properties, this study explored an innovative approach to efficiently extract anthocyanins and flavonols from P. lentiscus oilcakes utilizing ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) as an alternative to conventional solvent extraction. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) were used to identify and quantify the anthocyanins and flavonols, revealing the successful extraction of eight distinct anthocyanins and twenty flavonols. A Fractional Factorial Design (FFD) followed by a Box–Behnken design (BBD) were applied to optimize the yield of anthocyanins and flavonols. The optimal extraction conditions found were to be an extraction time of 15 min with 70% ethanol as the solvent and a liquid-to-solid ratio of 0.012 L g⁻¹, which resulted in a maximum extraction yield of 19.78 mg g⁻¹ dry extract for the Total Flavonol Content and over 25.4 mg g⁻¹ dry extract for the Total Flavonol and Anthocyanin Content. By elucidating the optimal conditions for extracting anthocyanins and flavonol glycosides, this study opens promising avenues for utilizing P. lentiscus oilcake by-products, supporting sustainable practices, and advancing the valorization of Mediterranean bio-resources for health-promoting applications.

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus Spenn. syn. Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a Mediterranean aromatic species used both as an official herb and as a spice. Different cultivars may exhibit diverse phytochemical compositions, making a comprehensive chemical characterization pivotal for a targeted selection of valuable cultivars. This study aimed to characterize and compare the phenolic and terpene composition and content of leaf extracts of six Mediterranean rosemary cultivars: ‘Alba’, ‘Arp’ ‘Ginger’, ‘Gorizia’, ‘Tuscan Blue’, and ‘Roseus’. HPLC-DAD analysis revealed a similar phenolic composition in all the cultivars, but quantitative differences were observed. The main compounds were carnosic acid derivatives, flavonoids (e.g., luteolin, apigenin, and quercetin glucosides), rosmarinic acid, caffeic acid, and other hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. The highest phenolic content was found in ‘Alba’, with a predominance of carnosic acid derivatives, whereas the lowest was found in ‘Ginger’ and ‘Gorizia’. The GC-MS analysis evidenced quantitative differences among the cultivars. Particularly, ‘Alba’ contained the highest terpene content, whereas ‘Arp’ and ‘Gorizia’ showed the lowest values. Regarding the antioxidant activity, ‘Alba’ exhibited the highest values as regards phenols, while for terpenes, the highest ones were obtained for ‘Ginger’ and ‘Tuscan Blue’. Significant Pearson correlations were obtained between the total phenol/terpene content and the antioxidant activity. The chemical characterization of these cultivars provides relevant information to produce the rosemary phytocomplexes, finding multiple industrial applications.

Pistacia lentiscus leaves are used in several applications, thanks to their polyphenolic abundance. Thiswork aimed to characterize the polyphenols and to optimize the extraction conditions to shorten the time, decrease the consumption of solvent, and to maximize the yield of different classes of phenolics, which have diverse industrial applications. The variables were optimized by applying a Box–Behnken design. Galloyl and myricetin derivatives were the most abundant compounds, and two new tetragalloyl derivatives were identified by LC-MS/MS. According to the models, the maximum yields of polyphenols (51.3 ± 1.8 mg g⁻¹ DW) and tannins (40.2 ± 1.4 mg g⁻¹ DW) were obtained using 0.12 L g⁻¹ of 40% ethanol at 50 °C. The highest content of flavonoids (10.2 ± 0.8 mg g⁻¹ DW) was obtained using 0.13 L g⁻¹ of 50% ethanol at 50 °C, while 0.1 L g⁻¹ of 30% ethanol at 30 °C resulted in higher amounts of myricitrin (2.6 ± 0.19 mg g⁻¹ DW). Our optimized extraction decreased the ethanolic fraction by 25% and halved the time compared to other methods. These conditions can be applied differently to obtain P. lentiscus extracts richer in tannins or flavonoids, which might be employed for various purposes.

Ocimum basilicum (basil) leaves are rich in polyphenols, conferring them a high antioxidant activity. The application of UV-B can be used to maintain the post-harvest nutraceutical quality of basil leaves. We aimed to investigate the effects of pre-harvest UV-B application on polyphenolic and pigment contents, antioxidant capacity, and the visual quality of basil stored leaves. We also evaluated the applicability of the non-invasive Dualex^® for monitoring the accumulation of leaf epidermal phenolics (Flav Index). After exposing plants to white light (control) and to supplemental UV-B radiation for 4 d, the leaves were harvested and stored for 7d (T_S7). The UV-B leaves showed both a higher phenolic content and antioxidant capacity than the controls at T_S7. In addition, the correlations between the Flav Index and phenolic content demonstrated that Dualex^® can reliably assess the content of epidermal phenolics, thus confirming its promising utilization as a non-destructive method for monitoring the phytochemical quality of O. basilicum leaves. In conclusion, a pre-harvesting UV-B application may be a tool for enhancing the content of polyphenols and the antioxidant potential of basil stored leaves without detrimental effects on their visual quality. These results are important considering the nutraceutical value of this plant and its wide commercial distribution.