The increasing incidence of drug- resistant pathogens raises an urgent need to identify and isolate new bioactive compounds from medicinal plants using standardized modern analytical procedures. Medicinal plant-derived compounds could provide novel straightforward approaches against pathogenic bacteria. This review explores the antimicrobial activity of plant-derived components, their possible mechanisms of action, as well as their chemical potential. The focus is put on the current challenges and future perspectives surrounding medicinal plants antimicrobial activity. There are some inherent challenges regarding medicinal plant extracts and their antimicrobial efficacy. Appropriate and optimized extraction methodology plant species dependent leads to upgraded and selective extracted compounds. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests for the determination of the antimicrobial activity of plant extracts may show variations in obtained results. Moreover, there are several difficulties and problems that need to be overcome for the development of new antimicrobials from plant extracts, while efforts have been made to enhance the antimicrobial activity of chemical compounds. Research on the mechanisms of action, interplay with other substances, and the pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic profile of the medicinal plant extracts should be given high priority to characterize them as potential antimicrobial agents.

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The aim of the study was to analyze potential health-promoting components of caper flower buds ( Capparis spinosa L.) at six stages of development in two cultivars. Polyphenol compounds (flavonols, hydroxycinnamic acids, flavan-3-ols) were identified by Liquid Chromatography- quadrupole Time-of-Flight -Mass Spectrofotometer/Mass Spectrofotometer (LC-qTOF-MS/MS) and quantified by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography-Photodiode Array-Fluorescence Detector (UPLC-PDA-FL). Moreover, antioxidant properties (ABTS+•, FRAP, and ORAC), anti-diabetic potential (α-amylase and α-glucosidase), and anti-aging activity (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE)) of the buds were examined. Total phenolic compounds in the investigated caper varied from 10,720 to 3256 mg/100 g dry weight (DW), and depended on a genotype and growing stage of caper flowers. Among six different growing stages, the one named 'nonpareilles' was characterized by significantly higher content of polyphenols than the remaining five stages. The flavonols in caper flowers represented a mixture of different glycosylated quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, and isorhamnetin derivatives, accounting for 38%-67%, 15%-36%, 4%-7%, and 0.8%-3%, respectively, of total flavonols,. Their contents strongly depended on the growth stage. 'Nonpareilles' and 'surfines' were richer in flavonols than 'fines' and 'gruesas'. Of the six investigated growth stages, 'nonpareilles' accumulated the greatest amounts of bioactive compounds that correlated with antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties, and were more potent BuChE than AChE inhibitors.

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Caper ( Capparis spinosa L.) is a xerophytic shrub with a remarkable adaptability to harsh environments. This plant species is of great interest for its medicinal/pharmacological properties and its culinary uses. Its phytochemical importance relies on many bioactive components present in different organs and its cultivation can be of considerable economic value. Moreover, taxonomic identification of C. spinosa L. has been difficult due to its wide heterogeneity, and many authors fell into confusion due to the scarcity of genetic studies. The present review summarizes information concerning C. spinosa L. including agronomic performance, botanical description, taxonomical approaches, traditional pharmacological uses, phytochemical evaluation and genetic studies. This knowledge represents an important tool for further research studies and agronomic development on this indigenous species with respect to the emerging climatic change in the Eastern Mediterranean countries. Indeed, this world region is particularly under the threat of global warming and it appears necessary to rethink agricultural systems to adapt them to current and futures challenging environmental conditions. Capparis spinosa L. could be a part of this approach. So, this review presents a state of the art considering caper as a potential interesting crop under arid or semi-arid regions (such as Eastern Mediterranean countries) within the climate change context. The aim is to raise awareness in the scientific community (geneticists, physiologists, ecophysiologists, agronomists, …) about the caper strengths and interest to the development of this shrub as a crop.

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Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foods are present in undisturbed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath a large human-made mound at Huaca Prieta and nearby sites on the Pacific coast of northern Peru. Radiocarbon ages indicate an intermittent human presence dated between ~15,000 and 8000 calendar years ago before the mound was built. The absence of fishhooks, harpoons, and bifacial stone tools suggests that technologies of gathering, trapping, clubbing, and exchange were used primarily to procure food resources along the shoreline and in estuarine wetlands and distant mountains. The stone artifacts are minimally worked unifacial stone tools characteristic of several areas of South America. Remains of avocado, bean, and possibly cultivated squash and chile pepper are also present, suggesting human transport and consumption. Our new findings emphasize an early coastal lifeway of diverse food procurement strategies that suggest detailed observation of resource availability in multiple environments and a knowledgeable economic organization, although technologies were simple and campsites were seemingly ephemeral and discontinuous. These findings raise questions about the pace of early human movement along some areas of the Pacific coast and the level of knowledge and technology required to exploit maritime and inland resources.

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Fermentation of capers (the fruits of Capparis sp.) was studied by molecular and culture-independent methods. A lactic acid fermentation occurred following immersion of caper berries in water, resulting in fast acidification and development of the organoleptic properties typical of this fermented food. A collection of 133 isolates obtained at different times of fermentation was reduced to 75 after randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-PCR analysis. Isolates were identified by PCR or 16S rRNA gene sequencing as Lactobacillus plantarum (37 isolates), Lactobacillus paraplantarum (1 isolate), Lactobacillus pentosus (5 isolates), Lactobacillus brevis (9 isolates), Lactobacillus fermentum (6 isolates), Pediococcus pentosaceus (14 isolates), Pediococcus acidilactici (1 isolate), and Enterococcus faecium (2 isolates). Cluster analysis of RAPD-PCR patterns revealed a high degree of diversity among lactobacilli (with four major groups and five subgroups), while pediococci clustered in two closely related groups. A culture-independent analysis of fermentation samples by temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis (TTGE) also indicated that L. plantarum is the predominant species in this fermentation, in agreement with culture-dependent results. The distribution of L. brevis and L. fermentum in samples was also determined by TTGE, but identification of Pediococcus at the species level was not possible. TTGE also allowed a more precise estimation of the distribution of E. faecium, and the detection of Enterococcus casseliflavus (which was not revealed by the culture-dependent analysis). Results from this study indicate that complementary data from molecular and culture-dependent analysis provide a more accurate determination of the microbial community dynamics during caper fermentation.

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