Lonicera caerulaea L. and Aronia melanocarpa (Michx.) Elliot fruits are frequently used for their health benefits as they are rich in bioactive compounds. They are recognized as a source of natural and valuable phytonutrients, which makes them a superfood. L. caerulea presents antioxidant activity three to five times higher than other berries which are more commonly consumed, such as blackberries or strawberries. In addition, their ascorbic acid level is the highest among fruits. The species A. melanocarpa is considered one of the richest known sources of antioxidants, surpassing currants, cranberries, blueberries, elderberries, and gooseberries, and contains one of the highest amounts of sorbitol. The non-edible leaves of genus Aronia became more extensively analyzed as a byproduct or waste material due to their high polyphenol, flavonoid, and phenolic acid content, along with a small amount of anthocyanins, which are used as ingredients in nutraceuticals, herbal teas, bio-cosmetics, cosmeceuticals, food and by the pharmaceutical industry. These plants are a rich source of vitamins, tocopherols, folic acid, and carotenoids. However, they remain outside of mainstream fruit consumption, being well known only to a small audience. This review aims to shed light on L. caerulaea and A. melanocarpa and their bioactive compounds as healthy superfoods with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antimicrobial, and anti-diabetic effects, and hepato-, cardio-, and neuro-protective potential. In this view, we hope to promote their cultivation and processing, increase their commercial availability, and also highlight the ability of these species to be used as potential nutraceutical sources, helpful for human health.

Honey and other bee products have been used for food and therapeutic purposes since ancient times. There are many varieties of honey with time-proven therapeutic properties, used in both traditional and modern medicine, along with various beekeeping products. In this study, conducted based on the dissemination of a questionnaire with 43 questions, an evaluation of the consumption of different types of honey for both food and therapeutic purposes was carried out. Hence, the frequency of the consumption of honey for food purposes was evaluated, as well as the pharmaceutical forms of honey and bee products utilized for therapeutic purposes, the population’s trust in their therapeutic potential, and their trust in the quality of bee products among the Romanian population. After processing the data, 917 responses were recorded, and it was found that the preferred types of honey were black locust (83.5%), multi-floral (81.9%), and linden (74.9%), and among the other bee products, the most consumed were propolis (44.2%) and bee pollen (29.2%). Regarding the use of honey as a sweetener, the majority of the respondents considered honey to be the healthiest option (81.7%), and regarding the use of honey for therapeutic purposes, most of the respondents stated that they used honey to strengthen the immune system (65.4%), as well as for skin treatment, laxative action, or energizing. The centralization and processing of the collected responses indicated a considerable level of readiness related to the increase in honey consumption in particular, but there is a need for the dissemination of effective information related to the nutritional and therapeutic value of beekeeping products to the population.

Cardiovascular disease remains the world’s leading cause of death globally, and there is continuing interest in adjunct, diet-based strategies that may support vascular health alongside guideline-directed pharmacotherapy. Anthocyanin-rich berries are one such option: they are widely consumed, generally safe, and can provide substantial amounts of polyphenols in habitual diets. This narrative review focuses on two anthocyanin-rich species, blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) and haskap/blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.), and examines the extent to which their intake may influence vascular endothelial function and cardiometabolic risk markers. For blueberries, which are typically dominated by malvidin- and delphinidin-based anthocyanins together with flavonols, phenolic acids and stilbenes such as pterostilbene, randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have reported improvements in flow-mediated dilation, with modest effects on blood pressure and arterial stiffness in at-risk populations. Haskap berries, characterized by high levels of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) and enriched in iridoids and vitamin C, have been studied mainly in cell and animal models, with early human data suggesting potential effects on vascular function, blood pressure and physical performance. Across both berries, emerging evidence indicates that vascular actions are mediated largely by gut- and host-derived phenolic metabolites rather than by transient circulating parent anthocyanins. We synthesize current knowledge on the phytochemical composition of blueberries and haskap, on molecular pathways implicated in endothelial protection (including NO/eNOS signaling, NRF2-mediated antioxidant defense, NF-κB-driven inflammation, lipoprotein metabolism and platelet activation), and on clinical outcomes related to vascular and cardiometabolic health. On this basis, we outline a mechanistic hypothesis that combined blueberry–haskap interventions could provide additive or synergistic effects on vascular function. This hypothesis is currently supported primarily by preclinical and indirect clinical evidence and should be regarded as hypothesis-generating, highlighting priorities for future mechanism-aware trials rather than constituting a practice-changing recommendation.

Given the current global circumstances, marked by severe environmental pollution—including the contamination of food—along with daily stress and a sedentary lifestyle, many consumers choose to improve their quality of life by using, among others, minimally processed food, food supplements, and gemmo-derivatives. Recent lab and clinical studies have shown the positive impact of specific nutrients with antioxidant capacities in the treatment of several conditions generated by oxidative stress. This paper reviews antioxidant plant extracts utilized as components in various dietary supplements and gemmoderivatives, highlighting their chemical composition and biological properties in preventing diseases caused by oxidative stress. A modern approach to food science brings to the fore the concept of dietary supplements vs. functional food, nutraceuticals, and gemmo-derivatives. The definitions of these terms are not being unanimously regulated in this respect and describe each category of compound and product, also emphasizing the need to implement adequate nutrivigilance. In order to enhance the absorption and bioavailability of dietary supplements and gemmo-derivatives based on antioxidant plant extracts, some encapsulation techniques are outlined.

The aim is to evaluate the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the extracts obtained from Lysimachia nummularia L. in order to be able to introduce these extracts into pharmaceutical products and obtain useful products in the infectious and antifungal pathology of the oro-dental cavity. Extracts from different parts of the studied species have been obtained and chemically characterized: the total polyphenols in 40% ethanolic extracts have been determined and the caffeic and chlorogenic acids and trans-resveratrol, bioactive compounds involved in the antimicrobial properties of the studied species, have been identified, separated, and quantitatively determined. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the extract of Lisymachia nummularia L. were determined using the diffusion method against a set of bacteria isolated from samples from different patients with diseases of the oro-dental cavity. The extract of Lisymachia nummularia L. exhibited antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria more than Gram-negative, where the effect was weaker; however, it had no antifungal effects on Candida albicans. Another aspect that must be emphasized is that the best antibacterial results were obtained from the aerial segment of the plant, the part where the highest concentration of polyphenols was identified in the studies presented. These results indicate that the pharmacological effects of the studied bacterial species support the use of extracts in obtaining pharmaceutical products that can be used to optimize treatment schemes in oro-dental diseases.

The therapeutic use of Taraxacum officinale L. remains a challenge due to its chemical profile shifting dramatically, markedly with seasonal variation and processing techniques. To address this, the paper evaluated how the plant organ, harvest season, and extraction technique as ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and solid–liquid extraction in a Soxhlet system (both using hydroalcoholic solvent concentrations of 70:30 (v/v) ethanol) and conventional cold maceration, at solvent concentration 50:50 (v/v) ethanol, respectively 70:30 (v/v) ethanol, could have impact both metabolite yield and biological activity. The findings show that a single, uniform extraction protocol is inefficient; instead, the data support a dual-harvest approach of vegetal product. Autumn harvests are ideal for extracting tannins and anthocyanins, while spring harvests maximize flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and carotenoids. In terms of methodology, UAE, with 70:30 (v/v) ethanol, consistently outperforms other approaches because it prevents thermal degradation of Soxhlet extraction and improves the recovery of intermediate-polarity compounds. As a result, UAE extracts showed the strongest antimicrobial action, particularly against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, and notable effectiveness against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In addition, brine shrimp lethality screening confirmed the safety of all extracts (LC₅₀ > 1000 µg/mL). Notably, the root extracts induced a specific, non-lethal delay in larval development, likely tied to their unique bitter principles. This research provides a practical framework for tailoring harvest and extraction parameters to target specific compounds for clinical and nutraceutical use.