The use of local Mediterranean food plants is at the brink of disappearance. Even though there is relatively abundant information on inventories of wild edible taxa, there is also a crucial need to understand how these plants are consumed and when and how these consumption phenomena change over time and place around the Mediterranean. Additionally, it is important to study such knowledge systems and find innovative ways of infusing them to the future Mediterranean generations. During the years 2003–2006 a circum-Mediterranean ethnobotanical field survey for wild food plants was conducted in selected study sites in seven Mediterranean areas (European Union-funded RUBIA Project). Structured and semi-structured questionnaires have been administered to indigenous people and 294 wild food plant taxa were documented in the survey. A comparative analysis of the data was undertaken showing that the quantity and quality of traditional knowledge varies among the several study areas and is closely related to the traditions, environment and cultural heritage of each country. More similarities of wild edible popular use were revealed between the Eastern Mediterranean and the Western Mediterranean.

During the years 2003–2005, a comparative ethnobotanical field survey was conducted on remedies used in traditional animal healthcare in eight Mediterranean areas. The study sites were selected within the EU-funded RUBIA project, and were as follows: the upper Kelmend Province of Albania; the Capannori area in Eastern Tuscany and the Bagnocavallo area of Romagna, Italy; Cercle de Ouezanne, Morocco; Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park in the province of Huelva, Spain; the St. Catherine area of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt; Eastern and Western Crete, Greece; the Paphos and Larnaca areas of Cyprus; and the Mitidja area of Algeria. One hundred and thirty-six veterinary preparations and 110 plant taxa were recorded in the survey, with Asteraceae and Lamiaceae being the most quoted botanical families. For certain plant species the survey uncovered veterinary phytotherapeutical indications that were very uncommon, and to our knowledge never recorded before. These include Anabasis articulata (Chenopodiaceae), Cardopatium corymbosum (Asteraceae), Lilium martagon (Liliaceae), Dorycnium rectum (Fabaceae), Oenanthe pimpinelloides (Apiaceae), Origanum floribundum (Lamiaceae), Tuberaria lignosa (Cistaceae), and Dittrichia graveolens (Asteraceae). These phytotherapeutical indications are briefly discussed in this report, taking into account modern phytopharmacology and phytochemistry. The percentage of overall botanical veterinary taxa recorded in all the study areas was extremely low (8%), however when all taxa belonging to the same botanical genus are considered, this portion increases to 17%. Nevertheless, very few plant uses were found to be part of a presumed "Mediterranean" cultural heritage in veterinary practices, which raises critical questions about the concept of Mediterraneanism in ethnobotany and suggests that further discussion is required. Nearly the half of the recorded veterinary plant uses for mammals uncovered in this survey have also been recorded in the same areas in human folk medicine, suggesting a strong link between human and veterinary medical practices, and perhaps also suggesting the adaptive origins of a few medical practices. Since most of the recorded data concern remedies for treating cattle, sheep, goats, and camels, it would be interesting to test a few of the recorded phytotherapeuticals in the future, to see if they are indeed able to improve animal healthcare in breeding environments, or to raise the quality of dairy and meat products in the absence of classical, industrial, veterinary pharmaceuticals.

The current work aimed to synthesize selenium and zinc nanoparticles using the aqueous extract of Ephedra aphylla as a valuable medicinal plant. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, zeta potential, and changes in the phytochemical constituents. Hence, the phenolic, flavonoid, and tannin contents were reduced in the case of the prepared samples of nanoparticles than the original values in the aqueous extract. The prepared extract of Ephedra aphylla and its selenium and zinc nanoparticles showed high potency as antioxidant agents as a result of the DPPH^• assay. The samples were assessed as anticancer agents against six tumor cells and a normal lung fibroblast (WI-38) cell line. The selenium nanoparticles of Ephedra aphylla extract revealed very strong cytotoxicity against HePG-2 cells (inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) = 7.56 ± 0.6 µg/mL), HCT-116 cells (IC₅₀ = 10.02 ± 0.9 µg/mL), and HeLa cells (IC₅₀ = 9.23 ± 0.8 µg/mL). The samples were evaluated as antimicrobial agents against bacterial and fungal strains. Thus, selenium nanoparticles showed potent activities against Gram-negative strains (Salmonella typhimurium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli), Gram-positive strains (Bacillus cereus, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis), and the fungal strain Candida albicans. In conclusion, the preparation of nanoparticles of either selenium or zinc is crucial for improved biological characteristics.

The essential oils and fatty constituents of Capparis spinosa as an important medicinal plant were extracted in petroleum ether and tested as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents. The components of the petroleum ether extract were identified by spectroscopic analysis using GC/MS. The spectral analysis showed that this extract contains mainly tetracosane (14.368%), methyl-cyclopentane (11.979%), heptadecane (11.794%), heptacosane (10.098%), eicosane (3.481%), vitamin E (4.280%), α-Cadinol (3.079%), Spathulenol (0.868%), α-Curcumene (1.188%), Muurolol (0.917%), phytol (1.727%), trans geranyl geraniol (0.862%), Palmitic acid (1.132%) and stigmasterol (2.172%). The functional chemical groups were estimated using Fourier transform infrared” FTIR” spectroscopy. The main phytochemical constituents present in this extract were quantitatively estimated. The antioxidant scavenging activity of petroleum ether extract was also examined using DPPH·, FIC, ABTS+· and FRAP assays. The petroleum ether extract of C. spinosa expressed a good antioxidant activity. The antimicrobial activity of C. spinosa extract was evaluated against several pathogenic bacterial strains such as Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneunomonia, Erwinia carotovora and Escherichia coli in addition to Candida albicans as pathogenic fungal strain. The extract exhibited a broad antimicrobial spectrum against the tested microorganisms. MIC and MBC of the extract were determined. The results showed inhibitory activity against all the tested organisms while showed cidal activity against only B. subtilis, K. pneunomonia and C. albicans. Progress in Chemical and Biochemical Research (PCBR)

Crataegus sinaica Boiss is a hawthorn plant that was found as a hybrid of two species, C. azarolus and C. monogyna, which grows vastly in the mountains of the Protectorate of St. Catherine, South Sinai, Egypt. The fruits of the plant are rich in primary and secondary metabolites, for instance reducing, total sugars, flavonoids, and phenols as demonstrated by the phytochemical analysis. The aqueous extract of the fruits of the plant was used to prepare the silver nanoparticles by green method, in which the reducing and total sugars facilitate the preparation step as they act as reducing and stabilizing agents. The nanoparticles of the plant were efficiently synthesized through mixing Crataegus sinaica fruits aqueous extract with silver nitrate solution at room temperature following the predetermined procedures for nanoparticle preparation. The prepared nanoparticles were identified by means of spectroscopic and analytical measurements i.e. UV-vis, IR, TEM, and zeta sizer-zeta analyzer. The extract of the fruits of the plant and its silver nanoparticles were assessed as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents, in which the nanoparticle solution displayed the more potent activities against the diverse microbial species and potent antioxidant agent than the aqueous extract.