Phenolic-Rich Extracts from Circular Economy: Chemical Profile and Activity against Filamentous Fungi and Dermatophytes.

Fungal infections represent a relevant issue in agri-food and biomedical fields because they could compromise quality of food and humans' health. Natural extracts represent a safe alternative to synthetic fungicides and in the green chemistry and circular economy scenario, agro-industrial wastes and by-products offer an eco-friendly source of bioactive natural compounds. In this paper, phenolic-rich extracts from Olea europaea L. de-oiled pomace, Castanea sativa Mill. wood, Punica granatum L. peel, and Vitis vinifera L. pomace and seeds were characterized by HPLC-MS-DAD analysis. Finally, these extracts were tested as antimicrobial agents against pathogenic filamentous fungi and dermatophytes such as Aspergillus brasiliensis , Alternaria sp., Rhizopus stolonifer , and Trichophyton interdigitale . The experimental results evidenced that all extracts exhibited a significant growth inhibition for Trichophyton interdigitale . Punica granatum L., Castanea sativa Mill., and Vitis vinifera L. extracts showed a high activity against Alternaria sp. and Rhizopus stolonifer . These data are promising for the potential applications of some of these extracts as antifungal agents in the food and biomedical fields.