Watercress (Nasturtium officinale R. Br.) is a highly nutritious leafy crop with rich health-related phytonutrient profile including secondary plant metabolites such as glucosinolates. This semi-aquatic well-suited for indoor hydroponic cultivation and has growing market its distinctive peppery taste health benefits. We describe trials in three contrasting environments report the changes to mor...

The antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of some spices (M. piperita L., R. coriaria L., T. spicata, S. officinalis, R. officinalis L., C. ovata L., O. vulgare L., L. nobilis L. and C. annum L.) were determined. The higher TEAC values (mmol TE/g extract) were obtained for sage (1.783) and rosemary (1.241). The IC value (mg/ml) ranged between 0.103-4.082 for mint and capers, respectiv...

Ionic liquid based, ultrasound-assisted extraction was successfully applied to the extraction of phenolcarboxylic acids, carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid, from Rosmarinus officinalis. Eight ionic liquids, with different cations and anions, were investigated in this work and [C(8)mim]Br was selected as the optimal solvent. Ultrasound extraction parameters, including soaking time, solid-liquid r...

Rosmarinus officinalis L. is commonly used as a spice and flavoring agent. Diterpenes are the main active compounds of R. officinalis. An Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of carnosol, rosmanol, and carnosic acid isolated from R. officinalis in rat plasma, and applied to a pharmacokinetic study afte...

Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus L.) oil contains the highest levels of erucic acid of known seed oils (75-80%). A significant portion of the acid is attached to the 2-position of the glycerol, and trierucin is a major component (ca. 50%) of the oil. Seeds from eleven varieties of commercially available garden nasturtium (T. majus) were screened for oil content, erucic acid levels and fatty acid di...

Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) is a common household plant which belongs to the family Lamiaceae and is grown in many parts of the world. It is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers. The two most commonly grown hardy Rosemaries are Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp' and R. officinalis 'Madelene Hill' (syn. 'Hill Hardy'). The ot...