Properties of Plant Extracts from Adriatic Maritime Zone for Innovative Food and Packaging Applications: Insights into Bioactive Profiles, Protective Effects, Antioxidant Potentials and Antimicrobial Activity

Knowledge about the composition (volatile and non-volatile) and functionality of natural extracts from Mediterranean plants serves as a basis for their further application. In this study, five selected plants were used for the extraction of plant metabolites. Leaves and flowers of <i>Critmum maritimum</i>, <i>Rosmarinus officinalis</i>, <i>Olea europea</i>, <i>Phylliera latifolia</i> and <i>Mellisa officinalis</i> were collected, and a total of 12 extracts were prepared. Extractions were performed under microwave-assisted conditions, with two solvent types: water (W) and a hydroalcoholic (ethanolic) solution (HA). Detailed extract analysis was conducted. Phenolics were analyzed by detecting individual bioactive compounds using high-performance liquid chromatography and by calculating total phenolic and total flavonoid content through spectrophotometric analysis. Higher concentrations of total phenolics and total flavonoids were obtained in the hydroalcoholic extracts, with the significantly highest total phenolic and flavonoid values in the rosemary hydroalcoholic extract (3321.21 mg_GAE/L) and sea fennel flower extract (1794.63 mg_QE/L), respectively; and the lowest phenolics in the water extract of olive leaves (204.55 mg_GAE/L) and flavonoids in the water extracts of sea fennel leaves, rosemary, olive and mock privet (around 100 mg_QE/L). Volatile organic compounds (VOC) were detected using HS-SPME/GC-MS (Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction coupled with Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry), and antioxidant capacity was estimated using DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay) and FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power) methods. HS-SPME/GC-MS analysis of samples revealed that sea fennel had more versatile profile, with the presence of 66 and 36 VOCs in W and HA sea fennel leaf extracts, 52 and 25 in W and HA sea fennel flower extracts, 57 in rosemary W and 40 in HA, 20 in olive leaf W and 9 in HA, 27 in W mock privet and 11 in HA, and 35 in lemon balm W and 10 in HA extract. The lowest values of chlorophyll a were observed in sea fennel leaves (2.52 mg/L) and rosemary (2.21 mg/L), and chlorophyll b was lowest in sea fennel leaf and flower (2.47 and 2.25 mg/L, respectively), while the highest was determined in olive (6.62 mg/L). Highest values for antioxidant activity, determined via the FRAP method, were obtained in the HA plant extracts (up to 11,216 mg_AAE/L for lemon balm), excluding the sea fennel leaf (2758 mg_AAE/L) and rosemary (2616 mg_AAE/L). Considering the application of these plants for fresh fish preservation, antimicrobial activity of water extracts was assessed against <i>Vibrio fischeri</i> JCM 18803, <i>Vibrio alginolyticus</i> 3050, <i>Aeromonas hydrophila</i> JCM 1027, <i>Moraxella lacunata</i> JCM 20914 and <i>Yersinia ruckeri</i> JCM 15110. No activity was observed against <i>Y. ruckeri</i> and <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, while the sea fennel leaf showed inhibition against <i>V. fisheri</i> (inhibition zone of 24 mm); sea fennel flower was active against <i>M. lacunata</i> (inhibition zone of 14.5 mm) and <i>A. hydrophila</i> (inhibition zone of 20 mm); and rosemary and lemon balm showed inhibition only against <i>V. fisheri</i> (inhibition zone from 18 to 30 mm). This study supports the preparation of natural extracts from Mediterranean plants using green technology, resulting in extracts rich in polyphenolics with strong antioxidant potential, but with no clear significant antimicrobial efficiency at the tested concentrations.