Rosa damascena is referred to as the queen of roses due to its ornamental, flavoring, and perfuming uses, along with its recognized use in therapy. This study aimed to investigate the total phenols and flavonoids contents, the phenolic compounds, and study the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of the hydroethanolic extract from Rosa damascena flowers, collected from the Middle Atlas of Morocco (Khenifra). The total phenols and flavonoids were assessed using gallic acid and quercetin as standards, and the phenolic compounds were characterized using HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by two methods, namely ferric reducing assay power and total antioxidant capacity. The broth microdilution method was employed to evaluate the antibacterial activity of extract against four bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes). Up to 16 phenolic compounds belonging to tannins and flavonoids were positively identified in the Rosa damascena extract. The latter displayed high antioxidant activity and exhibited a bacteriostatic effect against Escherichia coli and a bactericidal effect against Salmonella typhimuriumn, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes. As a result, the flowers of Rosa damascena might be employed as natural agents in the pharmaceutical field.

Saffron petals, which are the main by-products of Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae family), are produced in large quantities and are known for their many beneficial properties. In this regard, this study aims to investigate the phenolic composition and antibacterial properties of hydroethanolic extracts from Crocus sativus L. petals collected from Serghina (province of Boulmane) in Morocco. The phenolic profiles were characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS). The antibacterial potential was evaluated against four bacterial strains potentially causing food-borne disease (Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes) using disc diffusion and broth micro-dilution assays. Results showed that a total of 27 phenolic compounds was detected in the Crocus sativus L. petal extracts, which were assigned to flavonoids (kaempferol, quercetin, isorhamnetin, and myricetin derivatives). The most abundant compound was represented by kaempferol-sophoroside isomer (20.82 mg/g ± 0.152), followed by kaempferol-sophoroside-hexoside (2.63 mg/g ± 0.001). The hydroethanolic extracts of Crocus sativus L. petals demonstrated bactericidal effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocetogenes and bacteriostatic effects against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Therefore, the by-product Crocus sativus L. petal extracts might be considered as valuable sources of natural antibacterial agents with potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Olive oil is an important product in the Mediterranean diet, due to its health benefits and sensorial characteristics. Picholine marocaine is the most cultivated variety in Morocco. The present research aims to evaluate the phenolic compounds, vitamin E and fatty acids of commercial Picholine marocaine virgin olive oils (VOOs) from five different North Moroccan provinces (Chefchaouen, Taounate, Errachidia, Beni Mellal and Taza), using HPLC-photodiode array (PDA)/electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS, normal phase (NP)-HPLC/ fluorescence detector (FLD) and GC-flame ionization detector (FID)/MS, respectively. The obtained results showed an average content of 130.0 mg kg⁻¹ of secoiridoids (oleuropein aglycone, 10-hydroxy-oleuropein aglycone and ligstroside aglycone, oleocanthal and oleacein), 108.1 mg kg⁻¹ of phenolic alcohols (tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol), 34.7 mg kg⁻¹ of phenolic acids (caffeic acid, ferulic acid and elenolic acid), and 8.24 mg kg⁻¹ of flavonoids (luteolin, luteolin glucoside, apigenin). With regard to vitamin E, α-tocopherol was the most abundant vitamin E (57.9 mg kg⁻¹), followed by α-tocotrienol (2.5 mg kg⁻¹), γ-tocopherol (4.5 mg kg⁻¹) and β-tocopherol (1.9 mg kg⁻¹), while δ-tocopherol was not detected. Moreover, 14 fatty acids were found and, among them, oleic acid (76.1%), linoleic acid (8.1%) palmitic acid (8.7%) and stearic acid (2.5%) were the major fatty acids detected. Finally, heat map and principal component analysis allowed us to classify the studied provinces in terms of VOO chemical composition: Chefchaouen (tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol), Taounate (oleuropein aglycone), Errachidia (ferulic acid, w-3 and w-6), Beni Mellal (oleocanthal) and Taza (luteolin and oleic acid).

Origanum compactum belonging to the family Lamiaceae is widely used in food and pharmaceutical fields due to its biologically active substances. We aimed to investigate the total phenol and flavonoid contents and the phenolic composition, and to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial properties of hydroethanolic extract from of Origanum compactum. Total phenol and flavonoid contents were evaluated using gallic acid and quercetin as standards, respectively, and the phenolic profile was characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS). The antioxidant activity was determined by two methods: ferric reducing power (FRAP) assay and the phosphomolybdate method. The antibacterial effect was evaluated against four bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) using the broth microdilution method. The findings show that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 107.789 ± 5.39 mg GAE/g dm and 14,977 ± 0.79 mg QE/g dm, respectively. A total of sixteen phenolic compounds belonging to phenolic acids and flavonoids were detected. Furthermore, the extract showed strong antioxidant activity, and displayed a bacteriostatic effect against Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimuriumn, and a bactericidal effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. Therefore, this study reveals that Origanum compactum extracts display potential as antibacterial and natural antioxidant agents for fighting against pathogenic bacteria and preventing oxidative stress.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and the antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus isolated from sausages in Meknes city of Morocco

The wine industry produces large amounts of grape pomace (GP), a waste that needs to be disposed of properly. Bioactive compounds with high added value can be recovered from GP as an interesting strategy to reduce the environmental impact. Here, two different technologies were employed to recover polyphenol compounds from GP: microwave hydrodiffusion and gravity (MHG) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The further purification of UAE and MHG extracts was carried out through solid-phase extraction (SPE) to obtain three fractions, F1, F2 and F3. ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of sugar and polysaccharide components in F1, as well as non-anthocyanin and anthocyanin compounds in F2 and F3, respectively. Also, the chemical profile was determined by HPLC-UV-DAD, identifying the presence of catechin in F2, and malvidin-3-O-glucoside chloride and cyanidin chloride derivative as the main anthocyanin compounds in F3. The fractions and their parental extracts were characterized for total phenolic content (TPC) and scavenger activity by in vitro assays. We found that F2-MHG and F3-MHG contained phenol contents 6.5 and 8.5 times higher than those of the parental non-fractionated extracts. Finally, F3-MHG (100 μg/mL, w/v) was shown to reduce the proliferation of HT-29 cells.