Polyphenol composition of the shell, pulp, and roasted and unroasted kernels of the argan fruit was qualitatively and quantitatively determined by HPLC coupled with electrospray negative ionization ion trap MS (HPLC‐ESI‐MS). Eleven phenolic compounds were identified. Unroasted kernels and shell contained various polyphenols but the pulp was characterized by a very high amount of total polyphenols (75.78 mg of gallic acid equivalent/g). The radical scavenging (DPPH^. method) and antioxidant activity (ABTS method) of each fruit part was also determined. Argan fruit pulp showed the highest radical scavenging activity (0.17 ± 0.005 µM Trolox equivalent (TE)/mg) and antioxidant activity (0.375 ± 0.07 µM TE/mg). Therefore, argan fruit polyphenols are good candidates to be exploited as health supplements and nutraceuticals.

L’objectif de ce présent travail est l’étude comparative du rendement et de la composition chimique de l’huile essentielle (HE) issue de l’armoise blanche (Artemisia herba-alba) de la région de Guerçif (Maroc oriental) selon la date de récolte ainsi que la détermination de son activité antibactérienne et antifongique vis-à-vis de sept micro-organismes. Les rendements en HE exprimés en millilitre par rapport à 100 g de la matière sèche de l’Artemisia herba-alba récoltée en avril, juin et septembre (2008) sont respectivement de 0,86, 1,23 et 0,56 %. Les analyses chromatographiques des HE ont révélé l’existence de deux composés majoritaires, le chrysanthénone et le camphre pour les échantillons des mois d’avril et juin, par contre ceux du mois de septembre se distinguent par la présence du camphre et de l’α-terpin-7-al. L’HE de l’Artemisia herba-alba a montré une importante activité antimicrobienne. The main objective of this work is a comparative study in term of yield and chemical composition sagebrush’s (Artemisia herba-alba) essential oils in Guercif (Eastern region of Morocco) according to the harvest period and determination of its antibacterial and antifungal activity towards seven microorganisms. The sagebrush’s essential oils yields (ml/100 g) in April, June and September (2008) are 0.86, 1.23 and 0.56%. The chromatographic analysis of essential oils has revealed two major compounds: the chrysanthenone and camphor for April as well as June samples and camphor and the α-terpin-7-al in September. Also, sagebrush’s essential oil showed a significant antimicrobial activity.

Phenolic compounds extracted from cactus seed oil were identified for the first time by HPLC-ESI-qToF-MS and subsequently quantified by HPLC-DAD. A total of 7 compounds were identified, vanillin, syringaldehyde, and ferulaldehyde were found to be the most abundant ones. The effect of geographical origin and roasting process of cactus seeds was evaluated. Differences between different locations were not found, however the roasting process had a significant effect on the amount of phenolic compounds. The amount of syringaldehyde, p-coumaric acid, p-coumaric acid ethyl ester, and ferulaldehyde increased during the roasting process. Nevertheless, the concentration of vanillin was not influenced by roasting. It was demonstrated that the increase of those compounds was due to the thermal degradation of lignin from the seeds during the roasting process of seeds.