1. Investigación

Corema album (L.) D. Don (Ericaceae) is an endemic bush that grows along the Atlantic littoral of the Iberian Peninsula. Its edible white berries (known as camarinas, camariñas, camarinhas, white crowberry, among other vernacular names) have been used in popular medicine as an antipyretic and are consumed in localised areas of Portugal and Spain as appetisers and in the preparation of juices and jams. The aim of the present review is to summarise the knowledge of the chemical composition and pharmacological studies performed with C. album fruit and extracts. These berries are rich in phenolic compounds, including phenolic acids, stilbenes, flavonols, flavanones, prenylated flavanone, flavanols, and anthocyanins. The total phenolic content of various extracts of the pulp of these berries has been positively correlated with their antioxidant capacity. In this respect, the treatment with acetone, ethyl acetate, and aqueous extracts of this fruit has protected HepG2 cells against chemically induced oxidative stress. The chemoprotective effect of these extracts is mediated by preventing reactive oxygen species formation, reduced glutathione (GSH) depletion, antioxidant enzyme over-activity, and oxidative damage to proteins and lipids. Furthermore, the presence of pentacyclic triterpenes, such as ursolic and oleanolic acids, in C. album berries confers reflectance UV properties to this fruit and derived extracts. In short, existing studies suggest that the development of C. album crops should be considered as a promising opportunity to obtain these remarkable berries. Moreover, further experiments should also be designed to evaluate their in vivo effect and to ascertain the underlying mechanism of action.

The phenomenon of today’s ageing population has increased interest in the search for new active substances that delay the onset and development of neurodegenerative diseases. In this respect, the search for natural compounds, mainly phenolic compounds, with neuroprotective activity has become the focus of growing interest. Verbascoside is a phenylethanoid that has already presented several pharmacological activities. The purpose of this study is to isolate and identify verbascoside from Acanthus mollis leaves. Consequently, its neuroprotective ability through enzymatic inhibition and free radical scavenging ability has been analyzed both in vitro and in cell culture assays. The antioxidant capacity of verbascoside was evaluated in vitro through total antioxidant capacity, DPPH , OH, and O2 —scavenging activity assays. The e ect of verbascoside on intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels of HepG2 and SH-SY5Y cell lines was studied in normal culture and under induced oxidative stress. The inhibitory ability of the phenylethanoid against several enzymes implied in neurodegenerative diseases (tyrosinase, MAO-A, and AChE) was analyzed in vitro. Verbascoside neuroprotective activity is at least in part related to its free radical scavenging ability. The e ect of verbascoside on ROS production suggests its potential in the prevention of harmful cell redox changes and in boosting neuroprotection.

Climate change consequences for agriculture involve an increase of saline soils which results in lower crop yields due to increased oxidative stress in plants. The present study reports the use of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) as a tool to modulate plant innate mechanisms of adaptation to water stress (salinity and drought) in one year-old olive plantlets var. Arbosana and Arbequina. Integration of external changes in plants involve changes in Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) that behave as signals to trigger plant adaptative mechanisms; however, they become toxic in high concentrations. For this reason, plants are endowed with antioxidant systems to keep ROS under control. So, the working hypothesis is that specific beneficial strains will induce a systemic response able to modulate oxidative stress and improve plant adaptation to water stress. Ten strains were assayed, evaluating changes in photosynthesis, pigments, ROS scavenging enzymes and antioxidant molecules, osmolytes and malondialdehyde, as oxidative stress marker. Photosynthesis and photosynthetic pigments were the most affected variables. Despite the specific response of each variety, the favorite targets of PGPBs to improve plant fitness were photosynthetic pigments and the antioxidant pools of glutathione and ascorbate. Our results show the potential of PGPBs to improve plant fitness modulating oxidative stress.