Endemic plant species are usually more vulnerable to anthropogenic threats and natural changes and, therefore, hold a higher extinction risk. The preservation of these species is a major concern on a worldwide context and in situ protection alone will not guarantee their conservation. Ex situ conservation measures must be undertaken to support the conservation of these species, and seed banking is the more efficient and cost-effective method. However, when seed banking is not an option, alternative approaches should be considered. Biotechnological tools provide new and complementary options for plant conservation including short-, medium-, and long-term strategies, and their application for plant species conservation has increased considerably in the last years. This review provides information about the status of the use biotechnology-based techniques for the conservation of endemic plant species. Particular attention is given to cryopreservation, since is the only long-term ex situ conservation strategy that can complement and support the other conservation measures. The cryopreservation of plant genetic resources is, however, more focused on crop or economically important species and few studies are available for endemic plant species. The plant material used, the cryopreservation methods employed, and the assessment of cryogenic effects are reviewed. The reasons to explain the difficulties in cryopreserving these species are discussed and new strategies are proposed to facilitate and increase the interest on this matter. We expect that further studies on the conservation of endemic plant species will increase in a near future, thus contributing to maintain these valuable genetic resources.

Over the last 20 years, the use of dietary supplements (DS) has continued to grow in many countries. Due to the public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and amidst fears regarding COVID-19 vaccines and their low supply in many regions of the world, there has been a marked interest in the use of DS as alternative means of protecting against and treating this emerging disease, as well as boosting the immune system and minimizing the risk of inflammation. Despite a lack of evidence to suggest their efficacy, a surge in the sales of DS has been reported in many parts of the world. Questions have also been raised about the health effects associated with DS due to their increased use during the health crisis. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated their beneficial properties as well as some adverse and even toxic effects. In addition, given the current global interest in this issue, a review is needed to establish the status of dietary supplements before and during the health crisis. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence on the impact of dietary supplements on the incidence of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their regulation and associated market trends. First, we provide an overview of DS, including a comprehensive review of the legislative and regulatory aspects of DS in the USA, China, the EU, and Algeria. Second, we describe the prevalence of the most commonly consumed DS and their efficacy as a prophylactic modality in the era of COVID-19. Additionally, we examine the structure and size of the DS market in the countries that predominantly produce and import them, its global market trend, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on market growth. Finally, in this review, we also discuss the profile of DS users.

The present study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of different natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) on the extraction of phenolic compounds from Lavandula pedunculata subsp. lusitanica (Chaytor) Franco, on the antioxidant activity, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and tyrosinase (Tyr) inhibitory capacities. Ten different NADES were used in this research and compared with conventional solvents. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for 60 min proved to be the best extraction condition, and proline:lactic acid (1:1) and choline chloride:urea (1:2) extracts showed the highest total phenolic contents (56.00 ± 0.77 mg_GAE/g_dw) and antioxidant activity [64.35 ± 1.74 mg_TE/g_dw and 72.13 ± 0.97 mg_TE/g_dw in 2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2.2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) methods, respectively]. These extracts also exhibited enzymes inhibitory capacity particularly against Tyr and AChE. Even so, organic acid-based NADES showed to be the best extractants producing extracts with considerable ability to inhibit enzymes. Twenty-four phenolic compounds were identified by HPLC-HRMS, being rosmarinic acid, ferulic acid and salvianolic acid B the major compounds. The results confirmed that the combination of UAE and NADES provide an excellent alternative to organic solvents for sustainable and green extraction, and have huge potential for use in industrial applications involving the extraction of bioactive compounds from plants.