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Human health is now inextricably linked to lifestyle choices, which can either protect or predispose people to serious illnesses. The Mediterranean diet, characterized by the consumption of various medicinal plants and their byproducts, plays a significant role in protecting against ailments such as oxidative stress, cancer, and diabetes. To uncover the secrets of this natural treasure, this review seeks to consolidate diverse data concerning the pharmacology, toxicology, phytochemistry, and botany of Olea europaea L. (O. europaea). Its aim is to explore the potential therapeutic applications and propose avenues for future research. Through web literature searches (using Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus), all information currently available on O. europaea was acquired. Worldwide, ethnomedical usage of O. europaea has been reported, indicating its effectiveness in treating a range of illnesses. Phytochemical studies have identified a range of compounds, including flavanones, iridoids, secoiridoids, flavonoids, triterpenes, biophenols, benzoic acid derivatives, among others. These components exhibit diverse pharmacological activities both in vitro and in vivo, such as antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anticancer, and wound-healing properties. O. europaea serves as a valuable source of conventional medicine for treating various conditions. The findings from pharmacological and phytochemical investigations presented in this review enhance our understanding of its therapeutic potential and support its potential future use in modern medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Aging" is a practice that allows alcoholic beverages to mature and gives them particular flavors and colors. In this context, oak or durmast wooden barrels are used in this process, thus providing different types of aging. This conventional process produces a slow enrichment of organic compounds in the spirit inside the barrels. Organic substances present in the internal part of the barrels slowly undergo the phenomenon of extraction by the liquid phase (solid–liquid extraction). In this work, a new procedure based on rapid solid–liquid dynamic extraction (RSLDE) was used to evaluate the potential of obtaining the effects of aging in spirits in shorter times than conventional methods. For this purpose, a comparison between two solid–liquid extraction techniques, RSLDE and conventional maceration, was made. Four water/ethanol 60:40 (v/v) model solutions were prepared and put in contact with medium-toasted chips using the two extraction procedures (conventional and non-conventional) and determining dry residue and total polyphenol content. Reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analyses allowed the identification and quantification of furfural, ellagic acid and phenolic aldehydes (vanillin, syringaldehyde, coniferaldehyde and sinapaldehyde). The aging procedure with medium-toasted chips was tested on a young commercial grappa using maceration and RLSDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experimental techniques of solid-liquid extraction are compared relating to the lab-scale production of lemon liqueur, most commonly named "limoncello"; the first is the official method of maceration for the solid-liquid extraction of analytes and is widely used to extract active ingredients from a great variety of natural products; the second is a two-syringe system based on a Naviglio extractor, which represents a new solid-liquid extractive technology called rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction (RSLDE) that changes the philosophy of the process of solid-liquid extraction. Maceration is based on the principle of diffusion (Fick's law) that depends mainly on temperature; in fact, to increase the speed of maceration, heating of the system is required. In the case of RSLDE, the principle is based on the generation, in the presence of an appropriate solvent, of a negative pressure gradient between the outside and the inside of the solid matrix, followed by a sudden restoration of the initial conditions of equilibrium, which induces the forced extraction of compounds not chemically bonded to the matrix; consequently, the extraction can be performed at room temperature. In the experiment described, students evaluate the efficiency of extraction by the two methods. This laboratory experiment can be used in a food science laboratory course for secondary schools and for university students

Propolis is a resinous substance from beehive produced by the combination of plants and bee secretions. For a long time, this substance has gotten high attention in traditional and modern medicine. The aim of this review was to discuss the recent advances in the chemical composition and biological activities of propolis. The search for recent publications was based on several databases, such as PubMed, Google Scholar, Science-Direct, and Web of Sciences using relevant keywords. Literature data showed that several new compounds have recently been identified in propolis. The most important biological properties of propolis were discussed in this review, namely antibacterial, antiparasitic, antiviral, antioxidant, antileishmanial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory, and anticancer. In terms of safety, the data showed low toxicity of propolis even at high doses. Overall, propolis can be considered a promising source of bioactive compounds for drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]