Inflammation, thrombosis and oxidative stress are rarely studied together when wine’s biological activity is concerned; hence the existing literature lacks a holistic point of view in the biological outcome. The scope of the present study is to parallel evaluate the effect of wine extracts on those mechanisms. Ten wine varieties and two different extraction methods were used leading to five extracts for each wine: total lipids (TL) and fractions with different phenolic compound classes (FI, FII, FIII and FIV). Their effect on oxidative stress, platelet aggregation and the secretion of cytokines from mononuclear cells was measured and a biological score was calculated. FII of white wines is the most potent extract and the extracts FIII and TL are following. Specifically, FII had higher anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory score while all three fractions had a similar anti-platelet score. Furthermore, FII and FIII extracts were the most potent red wine extracts and revealed the highest anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory scores. White wine FII extracts were more potent than the red wine ones while FI and FIV extracts of red wine were more potent than the white wine ones. In conclusion, the protective effect of a wine is independent of its color but is strongly associated with its microconstituents profile. FII extract revealed the highest biological score and further examination is needed in order to identify the compounds that are responsible for the aforementioned actions.

Fig (Ficus carica L.) tree is cultivated worldwide and is highly appreciated for its fruit, which is consumed fresh or dried, having high nutritional and pharmaceutical value and for these reasons there is an increasing interest for its cultivation. In the present study, an ex situ collection of 60 fig accessions (41 indigenous Greek and 19 from other Mediterranean countries) was established and its diversity was analyzed using eight simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci. Greek fig genotypes showed relatively low allelic variation (the average number of SSR alleles per locus was 3.75), an excess of heterozygosity (mean He = 0.489 and Ho = 0.557), and extensive outbreeding (mean F index − 0.151). Cluster analysis showed that the established fig population exhibited weak genetic structure, with most of the genetic variation (89%) being present within individual members of the clusters. Both cluster and principal coordinate analysis confirmed that there is little correlation between genetic makeup and geographical origin of the fig accessions. Polymorphism information content with an average of 0.421 was reasonably informative. An identification key scheme for fig cultivars that will be useful in cultivar discrimination and intellectual property protection was developed. This work will contribute to a sustainable fig production regionally and worldwide, through the establishment and conservation of a reference fig collection, providing germplasm for future breeding efforts.

Scutellaria rupestris subsp. cephalonica (Rech.f.) Greuter & Burdet (Lamiaceae) is a perennial herb endemic to Mounts Ainos and Roudi on the island of Cephalonia. Until now, information about the taxon’s distribution has been sketchy: two fairly localized populations on Mt. Ainos have been reported, one of them extinct, and two on Mt. Roudi, without specifics. Because we thought that the taxon is much more common, we designed a survey along contours encircling the two peaks totaling 80 km. We recorded 112 locations of the taxon. We found that S. rupestris subsp. cephalonica prefers sunny clearings within fir forest as well as crevices among limestone rock on somewhat flat terrain. On Mt. Roudi, the taxon grows above 800 m, and is rather uncommon. On Mt. Ainos, the taxon is quite common above 1100 m; below that altitude it has not been confirmed. The findings were more abundant on the NE slope of Mt. Ainos which is wetter and possibly cooler than the SW slope due to being shaded and more forested, less eroded, and with a deep organic layer. The main threat to the survival of the taxon is illegal grazing. The proposed Red List assessment according to IUCN is EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii).