Biochemical and Biological Study of Two Medicinal Plants

With the aim of promoting the Mediterranean plant heritage and contributing to knowledge of medicinal plants with high therapeutic potential, this book focuses on two species widely used in traditional medicine: Globularia alypum L. and Vitex agnus-castus L. These plants play an important role in the treatment of inflammatory, infectious, metabolic and hormonal disorders. This book offers a critical synthesis of bibliographical data on their phytochemical characterization, highlighting the richness of these species in secondary metabolites, in particular phenolic compounds, flavonoids, iridoids, diterpenes and essential oils. The main extraction and analysis methods described in the literature, such as chromatographic and spectrometric approaches, are also discussed in order to better understand the chemical diversity of these plants.In addition, the book presents a review of the biological activities reported for Globularia alypum and Vitex agnus-castus, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory antimicrobial, metabolic and endocrine effects.