Characterization of ribes nigrum and rosmarinus officinalis food supplements

Ribes nigrum and Rosmarinus officinalis are widespread in the Mediterranean area, where they are commonly used as food spice, or odorant in fragrances, as well as traditional remedy in folk medicine. Despite the ever growing scientific and commercial interest in the characterization of the chemical composition and of the biological properties of officinal plant extracts and preparations, much work is still to be done to achieve a wider knowledge of their bioactive compound profiles and a better comprehension of their beneficial effects on human health. For instance, whereas antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities are often investigated, much less it is known about their effect in cancer prevention. Here, we report on the HPLC secondary metabolites profile characterization of commercially available Rosmarinus officinalis and Ribes nigrum ethanolic extracts. The effect of these extracts on the proliferation of two different head/neck cancer cells lines has also been investigated.