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Olive seeds, a potential food by-product from both table olive and olive oil industries, were examined for their overall proximate composition, oil, protein, mineral and phenolic components. Proximate analysis indicates that olive seeds are an unusually rich source of total dietary fibre (≅ 47% dry weight basis, DWB), as well as lipids (≅ 30%) and proteins (≅ 17%). Oil composition shows high levels of oleic (≅ 62% of total fatty acids) and linoleic (≅ 24%) acids, moderate concentrations of tocopherols (≅ 460 mg/kg) and squalene (≅ 194 mg/kg), and relatively high amounts of several sterols and non-steroidal triterpenoids. Olive seed proteins are a rich source of essential amino acids (about 46% of the total AA content). Olive seeds also contain significant amounts of some essential macro-elements (K, Ca, Mg, Na, P) and micro-elements (Zn, Mn, Cu). Phenolic compounds are present at relatively high quantities (≅ 2.8 mg/g seed, DWB); the most abundant belong to the group of secoiridoid compounds (elenolic acid derivatives) including oleuropein and structurally related substances (demethyloleuropein and ligstroside), and nüzhenide derivatives. Based on the general nutritional profile and nutraceutical components, olive seeds have value-added potential as a source of edible oil, proteins or meal serving as feed supplements.

The leaf volatile constituents of Minthostachys verticillata from various phytogeographic areas of Argentina were steam distilled and analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The composition of the oil was extremely variable from one population to another, leading to the conclusion that there are several chemotypes in this species. Thymol and carvacrol, which were absent in the oils of another populations previously reported, were the major components (> 10.0%) in the oils of Potrero and Sebastian populations (Catamarca). Pulegone was found in oils from Cordoba, San Luis, Catamarca (Balcosna population) and Tucuman (Potrero de las Tablas population) in high amounts (>21.1%). A high percentage of carvone (35.2%) was found in the oil obtained from Rancho de la Cascada plants.

The volatiles isolated by hydrodistillation from flowers of Acacia praecox Gris, were examined by GC-MS. Thirty-two components representing 95% of the oil were characterized. The major components were linalol (13.5%), undecane (13.3%), eugenol (10.5%), decane (10.5%) and oct-1-en-3-ol (9.1%).