Natural resources application in medicinal or nutritional formulations

Plant medicinal uses are well documented as well as their potential to deliver natural products that can or have become a commercial drug. Actually, medicinal plants used in folk medicine are being increasingly studied and used in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical fields. In fact, several molecules approved for drug administration are pure natural compounds. Moreover, natural products have garnered increasing attention in therapy because they are viewed more biologically friendly and consequently less toxic, although this is not always the case. The main objectives of our studies on natural products are the valorisation of underexploited species, 1 the confirmation of the species medicinal and/or nutritional value, and also to understand the extension of the climate changes’ impacts on species metabolome profile. To accomplish these goals, GC- and UHPLC-MS techniques were employed to obtain the species metabolome profile. However, in some cases, phytochemical studies to isolate and characterize the major secondary metabolites were also performed. Among recognised medicinal plants are Calendula species, 2 Artemisia campestris L.3 and Genista tridentata L.,4 which could become a value resource of bioactive compounds. In this communication, we will also present results that confirm the nutritional or medicinal value of several species,5 highlighting the salt tolerant species Spartina maritima, Puccinellia maritima and Limonium vulgare, 6 as well as the climate changes’ impact on Olea europaea7 metabolome profile.