The European Mediterranean region is one of the world's major centres of biodiversity. Research on plant species diversity in this region has neglected the area along the eastern part of the Adriatic basin in comparison to the other Mediterranean areas. The main aim of this study was to focus on this neglected area, by supplying data which is at present lacking in order to discuss the species-area relationship (SAR), floristic richness and endemism of the Adriatic islands and coast. Floristic data for 106 Croatian islands collected by different authors were integrated, systematised and presented in a form usable by other researchers worldwide. The Power (Arrhenius) function was used for modelling (by non-linear regression) the SAR. Residuals around the regression curve (as indicators of floristic diversity without the influence of island area) were calculated for each island. The proportion of endemics in the total island flora varies from 0% up to 28.6%, and 17.5% for narrow endemics. Floristic richness of the broader region was estimated (on the basis of SAR extrapolation) on 1807 species for all Croatian islands, and on 2797 species for the entire Mediterranean area in Croatia.

The strawberry tree fruit and leaf are a rich source of minerals, easily digestible sugars, dietary fibers, vitamins (especially vitamin C) and many bioactive compounds of significant functional value. Due to their favorable chemical composition, fruits have recently become increasingly popular in consumption. The aim of this study was to determine the physical-chemical composition, content of bioactive compounds, and also the antioxidant capacity of the fruit and leaves of wild strawberry tree populations among the Adriatic coast in Croatia, as well as to investigate the influence of location on the content of specific bioactive compounds. According to the obtained results, both fruit and leaves are pronouncedly high in vitamin C content, the average value for fruits amounted to 224.21 mg/100 g FW, while that for leaves amounted to 138.08 mg/100 g FW. Additionally, significantly high values of total polyphenolic compounds were recorded both in fruits (average value of 637.94 mg GAE/100 g FW) and especially in leaves (average value of 2157.01 mg GAE/100 g FW). Several pigments from different categories were determined in the fruit depending on fruit maturity, including: total anthocyanins, β-carotene and lycopene; while in leaves chlorophylls and carotenoids. Given the high content of different bioactive compounds high values of antioxidant capacity were determined (the average value for fruits was 2269.96 µmol TE/kg and for leaves, 2237.16 µmol TE/kg). Location strongly influenced the physical-chemical composition and also the content of specialized metabolites; populations collected from southern areas (central and south Dalmatia) of the Adriatic coast tended to have higher amounts of vitamin C, total phenols, total anthocyanins and β-carotene.

Brassicaceae are rich in healthy phytochemicals that have a positive impact on human health. The aim of this study was to analyze the phenolic compounds and antioxidant and anticancer potential of traditional Croatian kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala DC.) and wild cabbage (Brassica incana Ten.) extracts. The phenolic groups and antioxidant activity were determined by spectrophotometry, selected phenolic compounds (ferulic acid, sinapic acid, salicylic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin) were analyzed by LC-MS/MS, and anticancer potential was evaluated in vitro using HeLa cells. The extracts of both plant species are rich in phenolic compounds and showed significant antioxidant activity at similar levels. LC-MS/MS detected sinapic acid as the most abundant phenolic acid, followed by ferulic acid, while salicylic acid was present at lower concentrations. A comparative analysis showed that wild cabbage contained significantly more sinapic acid, while kale contained more kaempferol and quercetin. Both Brassica extracts at a concentration of 50 µg mL⁻¹ showed an antiproliferative effect on HeLa cells, while they did not affect the proliferation of normal human skin fibroblasts. Wild cabbage extract also showed an antiproliferative effect on HeLa cells at a lower applied concentration of 10 µg mL⁻¹ of extracts. The clonogenic analysis also revealed the inhibitory effect of the extracts on HeLa colony growth.

Genome size (GS) is an important characteristic that may be helpful in delimitation of taxa, and multiple studies have shown correlations between intraspecific GS variation and morphological or environmental factors, as well as its geographical segregation. We estimated a relative GS (RGS) of 707 individuals from 162 populations of Dianthus sylvestris with a geographic focus on the Balkan Peninsula, but also including several populations from the European Alps. Dianthus sylvestris is morphologically variable species thriving in various habitats and six subspecies have been recognized from the Balkan Peninsula. Our RGS data backed-up with chromosome counts revealed that the majority of populations were diploid (2n = 30), but ten tetraploid populations have been recorded in D. sylvestris subsp. sylvestris from Istria (Croatia, Italy). Their monoploid RGS is significantly lower than that of the diploids, indicating genome downsizing. In addition, the tetraploids significantly differ from their diploid counterparts in an array of morphological and environmental characteristics. Within the diploid populations, the RGS is geographically and only partly taxonomically correlated, with the highest RGS inferred in the southern Balkan Peninsula and the Alps. We demonstrate greater RGS variation among the Balkan populations compared to the Alps, which is likely a result of more pronounced evolutionary differentiation within the Balkan Peninsula. In addition, a deep RGS divergence within the Alps likely points to persistence of the alpine populations in different Pleistocene refugia.