This work aimed to determine how factors such as genotype, environment, and location influence the variation of biochemical compounds constituting the nutraceutical profile of Rosa canina L. fruits for their future integration as a functional food in everyday life, in a region of Romania, where wild fruits have lost their popularity, along with globalization and the social evolution of the rural environment. For nine genotypes of Rosa canina L., the average values of moisture (35.81%), ash (2.55%), total sugar content (41.37 g glucose equivalents/100 g), polyphenols (1211.15 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g), tannins (764.22 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g), flavonoids (126 mg catechin equivalents/100 g), anthocyanins (18.64 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside equivalents/100 g), alkaloids (64.20 mg equivalents of atropine sulfate/100 g), antioxidant activity (91.97%), as well as the contents of vitamin C (1.97 g/100 g), lycopene (0.85 mg/100 g), and β-carotene (1.42 mg/100 g) were determined. The determining factor is the genotype, and there are significant variations in the contents of bioactive compounds, both between the three studied areas and between genotypes in the same area. The contents of compounds with nutraceutical value justifies the significant food potential of these wild fruits and their use as a natural medicine in prophylactic and preventive activity.

The present study analyzed the vegetation diversity in three forests located in southern Romania and assessed their degree of similarity. Data were collected using frame quadrat sampling and species taxonomic identification. The methodology included the calculation of ecological indices (Shannon–Wiener, equitability, maximum entropy, Menhinick, Margalef, McIntosh, Gleason, and Simpson) and statistical analysis using ANOVA and Duncan tests (p < 0.05). Similarity between forests was evaluated using the Jaccard and Dice/Sørensen coefficients. The results showed that biodiversity increases with area size, and the forest ecosystem in Vlădila exhibited the highest number of woody and herbaceous species. Although the forest ecosystem in Studinița had the greatest floristic diversity, according to the Shannon–Wiener index, it also showed higher equitability (0.911 compared to 0.673 in Vlădila) due to a more uniform species distribution. The forest ecosystem in Studinița acted as an intermediate zone between those in Grădinile and Vlădila. Variations in diversity among the three areas reflect ecological differences influenced by location-specific factors such as soil type, climatic conditions, and human interventions. This suggests that ecological conditions and the physical characteristics of forests significantly impact the number and types of species that can coexist within an ecosystem.

This paper aims to analyze and compare the structure of tree and herbaceous plant communities in three temperate forest ecosystems located in the south of Olt County, Romania. The research consisted of determining the tree and herbaceous composition of the ecosystems by the frame quadrats sampling method and the taxonomic determination of the species. The community structure was analyzed based on structural indices such as the arithmetic mean of individuals (X), standard deviation (SD), confidence limits (LC), percentage density (DP), frequency (F), constant (C), relative significance index (W) and dominance index (ID). The results indicated that the structure of the plant communities shows differences depending on the studied area, but this structure remains complex but uneven. In the case of trees, species such as Crataegus monogyna, Quercus robur or Acer campestre tend to influence the community more due to an uneven distribution or a significant number of individuals. As regards the herbaceous species, out of the 34 identified, only two were noted to be present in all three sites, namely Geum urbanum and Viola canina, which reflects a higher adaptability in their case.

This paper assesses the complexity and diversity of vegetation in grassy strips with spontaneous plants between tree rows in three fruit orchards (plum, cherry, apple) in Dolj County, Romania, using structural and biodiversity indices. It addresses the lack of data on spontaneous vegetation in Romanian orchards, supporting improved plantation management and native biodiversity conservation. The study found that grassy strips supported high wild herbaceous diversity and a complex, heterogeneous ecological structure, with the apple orchard showing the highest biodiversity. Species diversity, evaluated through species richness, evenness, and diversity indices (Shannon, Simpson, Menhinick, Gleason, etc.), showed species richness ranging from 30 species in the cherry orchard to 40 in the apple orchard. Several species, including Capsella bursa-pastoris, Geranium pusillum, Poa pratensis, Veronica hederifolia, Lolium perenne, and Convolvulus arvensis, were present in 100% of samples, making them constant species from a phytosociological perspective. Their presence indicates relatively stable plant communities in each orchard. From a phytocoenological view, an ecological plant community is defined not only by species composition but also by constancy and co-occurrence in sampling units. Dominance remained low in all orchards, indicating no single plant dominated, while evenness showed a uniform distribution of species.

Growing interest in the medicinal and nutraceutical uses of hawthorn highlights the need to improve the extraction of bioactive compounds in order to produce high-value products. This study aimed to refine extraction methods to improve the quality and quantity of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins in Crataegi fructus extracts while preserving their integrity and minimizing the impact of impurities. Phenolic compounds and flavonoids were extracted using ethanol, tannins and water via unconventional ultrasound-assisted extraction protocols. According to the results, significant variations in the total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid (TFC), and total tannin (TTC) content were observed in correlation with the genotype and the extraction time. The optimal extraction time for TPC and TFC was 150 min of sonication of the samples, while the optimal extraction time for TTC was 30 min of sonication at 99 °C. Ten phenolic compounds, acids (chlorogenic, gallic and syringic acids) and flavonoids (epicatechin, catechin, procyanidin B2, hyperoside, quercetin, isoquercetin and vitexin), were identified in hawthorn fruits extracts by HPLC. Among them, the most abundant were epicatechin, chlorogenic acid, procyanidin B2, catechin and gallic acid. By comparing the maximum contents of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannin extracted from the two species of Crataegi fructus, Crataegus monogyna presented a lower amount of phenolic compounds and tannins, but higher amount of flavonoids, compared to C. pentagyna (1222.15 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ TPC, 502.47 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ TTC, and 723.48 mg CE 100 g⁻¹ TFC in C. monogyna vs. 1240.01 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ TPC, 709.61 mg GAE 100 g⁻¹ TTC, and 549.67 mg CE 100 g⁻¹ TFC in C. pentagyna). Since the climate can influence both the content of bioactive compounds in plants and their extractability, the importance of this study lies in the description for the first time in the literature of hawthorn genotypes selected in Olt County, Romania, in a continental temperate climate with subtropical influences. The results of the study help obtain valuable genotypes for high-quality drugs and food supplements.

Wild edible fruit species play an important role in maintaining biodiversity, supporting ecosystems and socio-economic valorisation of natural resources. In the temperate zone, hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), rosehip (Rosa canina) and blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) are notable for their ecological, nutritional, and medicinal value. The present study aimed to estimate the populations of the three species in the Grădinile, Studinița and Vlădila forests (Olt county, Romania), using the T-square method. The results revealed significant variations in population density: R. canina recorded the highest densities in the Studinița Forest (4593.35 individuals/ha), followed by Vlădila (2064.98 individuals/ha), while in Grădinile the number of individuals was insufficient for the application of the method. C. monogyna had the highest density in Studinița (11854.42 individuals/ha), and P. spinosa was present only in the Vladila Forest, where 7274.09 individuals/ha were estimated. These results highlight the high ecological plasticity of hawthorn and the role of the Vladila Forest as a favourable habitat for all three species. The assessment of population numbers provides essential information for the conservation of genetic resources and for the substantiation of measures for sustainable management of forest ecosystems.