Grape is the largest fruit crop worldwide and the grape pomace is an important solid waste generated from pressing and fermentation processes in wine industries. Wine industry residues are rich in bioactive compounds and, in this case, the utilization of grape by-products for alternative uses has been a focus of research. The aim of the present project is to present the primary benefits of winemaking by-products to new products focusing on grape pomace, as well as to discover novel applications in food industry, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, agricultural, livestock fields and in energy recovery systems. Moreover, new green technologies for valuable components recovery will be summarized. Recognizing emerging technologies, researchers would have the opportunity to promote development of value-added products and high-quality applications in different markets and sectors recycling of winery by-products or even side streams. This study presents the main bioactive components of grape pomace, along with new current extraction pathways, targeting the decrease of negative environmental impact in parallel to functional added value applications.

Hypericum L. comprises about 500 species distributed almost worldwide. Research has mainly focused on H. perforatum with confirmed biological activity on the alleviation of depression symptoms, among others. The compounds responsible for such activity are considered naphthodianthrones and acylphloroglucinols. Other Hypericum species are less studied or not studied, and further research is needed to complete the characterization of the genus. In this study we evaluated the qualitative and quantitative phytochemical profile of nine Hypericum species native to Greece, namely H. perforatum, H. tetrapterum, H. perfoliatum, H. rumeliacum subsp. apollinis, H. vesiculosum, H. cycladicum, H. fragile, H. olympicum and H. delphicum. Qualitative analysis was performed using the LC/Q-TOF/HRMS technique, while quantitative data were calculated with the single point external standard method. Additionally, we estimated the antioxidant activity of the extracts using DPPH and ABTS assays. Three species endemic to Greece (H. cycladicum, H. fragile, H. delphicum) were studied for the first time. Our results indicated that all studied species are rich in secondary metabolites, mainly of the flavonoids family, with strong antioxidant activity.

(1) Background: The essential oils (EOs) of Sideritis L. have attracted great interest due to their pharmacological activities and potential applications in the cosmetic and perfume industries. The aim of this work was to study the EO chemical composition of three of the most popular, in Greece, mountain tea species: namely, these include Sideritis scardica, Sideritis raeseri, and Sideritis syriaca. (2) Methods: The EOs were obtained from the aerial parts of three Sideritis species that were cultivated in various regions of Greece by hydrodistillation, and the chemical composition was studied by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. (3) Results: The EOs of the Sideritis species—S. scardica (SSC1, SSC2, SSC3), S. raeseri (SR1, SR2, SR3), and S. syriaca (SS1, SS2, SS3)—were analyzed by GC-MS, and they showed both qualitatively and quantitatively high variation in their chemical composition. (4) Conclusions: The EOs of S. scardica and S. raeseri from three different regions of Greece, and the S. syriaca from three different localities of Crete Island in Southern Greece, showed high chemical variability. Although 165 different components were found to be present in the nine samples through GC-MS analysis, only 7 (1-octen-3-ol, linalool, trans-pinocarveol, p-mentha-1,5-dien-8-ol, α-terpineol, myrtenol, and verbenone) were common components in the nine EOs, which were identified to be highly variable in different percentages among the samples. Even the EOs of SS1 and SS2, which were cultivated nearby, showed different GC profiles. The composition variation observed might be attributed to differentiations in the soil and climatic conditions.