Bioprospecting of Mediterranean flora: researching natural products with medicinal and nutritional value

The main subject of this PhD project is the valorization of endemic plant of Mediterranean flora through the isolation and structural characterization of their bioactive constituents. In this context, a series of experimental steps, focused on the chemical and biological study of five species belonging to different families, collected in the Mediterranean area, was proposed. The studied plants were mainly selected for their ethnobotanical uses and their potential in yielding different bioactive molecules, including Premna resinosa (Hochst.) Schauer (Lamiaceae), Salsola soda L. (Amaranthaceae), Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb. (Elaeagnaceae), Prunus avium L. (Rosaceae), Cornus sanguinea L. (Cornaceae). The isolation of the main plant chemical constituents was achieved by extractive and chromatographic processes, including flash silica gel or Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, High-Performance Centrifugal Partition Chromatography (HPCPC), and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The structural elucidation of the isolated secondary metabolites was carried out by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, and by mass spectrometry analyses. The extracts and isolated compounds were asseyed for their potential effects in different pathological conditions linked to diabetic complications, inflammatory processes, and cancer therapy.