Resistance to drugs is reaching alarming levels and is placing human health at risk. With the lack of new antimicrobials drugs, infectious diseases are becoming harder to treat. Hence, there is an increasing awareness of active phytochemicals with therapeutic functions. The tremendous research interest on the Cistus L. genus includes numerous plants used in traditional medicine by people living around the Mediterranean Sea, also resulted in some interesting discoveries and written literature. This review aimed at gathering scientific literature about Cistus species, describing phytochemical profiles and the various pharmacological activities. We also extensively reviewed the antimicrobial activities, including antiviral, antiparasitic, antifungal, and antibacterial potentials of Essential Oils (EO), raw extracts as well as isolated compounds. Mechanisms of action along with methods used are also investigated in this review. Considering the findings of the Cistus species extracts, this genus offers an adequate reserve of active phytochemicals since many have been used to create drugs. Therefore, this review work can serve society by providing a global view on Cistus L. sp. regarding pharmacological potentials and their chemical profiles.

Date (Phoenix dactylifera) seed is a potential source of natural antioxidants, and the use of innovative green and low temperature antioxidant recovery techniques (using CO₂ as solvent) such as supercritical fluid (SFE) and subcritical (SubCO₂) extractions can improve their yields and quality in the extracts. SFE, SubCO₂ and Soxhlet techniques were employed to enrich antioxidants in extracts from Sukari (SKSE), Ambara (AMSE), Majdool (MJSE) and Sagai (SGSE) date seeds. Extract yields were evaluated and modelled for SFE extract using response surface methodology. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) phenolics (143.48–274.98 mg GAE/100 g), flavonoids (78.35–141.78 mg QE/100 g), anthocyanins (0.39–1.00 mg/100 g), and carotenoid (1.42–1.91 mg BCE/100 g) contents were detected in extracts obtained using SFE and SubCO₂ methods. The evaluation of in vitro antioxidant properties showed that SFE and SubCO₂ seed extracts demonstrated promising antioxidant (13.42–23.83 µg AAE/mL), antiradical (228.76–109.69 µg/mL DPPH IC₅₀), ferric reducing antioxidant power (1.43–2.10 mmol TE/100 g) and ABTS cation scavenging (375.74-717.45 µmol TE/100 g) properties that were significantly higher than Soxhlet extracts. Both SFE and SubCO₂ techniques can be effectively utilized as innovative and environmentally friendly alternatives to obtain high quality antioxidant rich extracts from date seed. These extracts may have potential functional and nutraceutical applications.

Roasting is an important step of coffee processing which affects its quality characteristics. We investigated the effect of microwave and oven roasting on its physicochemical and antioxidant properties, and the fatty acids content. The oil contents of green and roasted coffee beans were determined as 5.75% (green), 9.65% (oven) and 2.70% (microwave). The total phenol content of green coffee beans was decreased by 13.59% and 16.66% on microwave and oven roasting, respectively. Microwave and oven roasting caused a decrease of 34.76% and 37.63%, respectively in the antioxidant potential of green coffee beans. With few exceptions, the contents of most of the phenolic compounds were increased during roasting of coffee beans. The palmitic acid content decreased, while the oleic, linoleic, linolenic and arachidonic acid contents of roasted coffee bean oils were increased during roasting. This information could be helpful for securing the maximal health benefits of coffee.

Beetroot is a widely consumed crop all over the world and contains plenty of bioactive compounds. In this study, we analyzed the bioactive as well as the antimicrobial properties of the oven-dried beetroot (pulp and peel) using different solvents. The 50% methanolic extract yielded the highest content of total polyphenols and total flavonoids as well as the reducing power of the beetroot. The beetroot peel exhibited a higher content of total polyphenols, total flavonoids, and reducing power activity under all the extraction solvents. Mixture of methanol and water (50% v/v) extracted the highest chlorogenic acid (78.24 mg/100 g) of the dried beetroot peel, while 1,2-dihydroxybenzene was the most noteworthy phenolic compound (42.52 mg/100 g) in beetroot peel methanolic extract. The 50% methanolic extract of both peel and pulp demonstrated the highest antibacterial and anticandidal potential. These results can be helpful for beetroot consumption.