Plants are plastic living beings that show a great deal of adaptation to the environment. Ecological environments considered extreme (salt marshes, mines, metalliferous soils, thermal deposits) present a special flora and vegetation where the degree of adaptation to certain environmental variables acquires its maximum expression. 

The study of plant species growing in these environments has made it possible to identify and describe some of these strategies (hyperaccumulation of metals, formation of biominerals in the tissues, biosynthesis and accumulation of organic compounds with different functions, etc.).  

The species of these environments can be of pharmacological utility (use of extracts and organic plant components with bioactive properties) and biotechnological utility (use of plant species or parts of these in phytoremediation processes, as a basis for the manufacture, design or synthesis of new materials, etc.) 

The studies carried out on the vegetation of ecologically extreme environments of the Iberian Peninsula demonstrate the specificity of this flora and its ecological interest and pharmacological-biotechnological potential. It has been observed that the organic and inorganic chemical composition is influenced by the environmental conditions in which the species in question grows. Thus, it is possible to achieve different nutrient concentrations, the formation of variable biominerals, or the biosynthesis of certain compounds by varying the growth conditions of these species. It is therefore of interest to study the species in their natural ecological environments and, subsequently, to establish what changes occur when climatic and edaphic variables are varied in their cultivation. 

The studies carried out by the research team have allowed finding several extremophilic species whose extracts contain compounds with detectable bioactivity against Plasmodium falciparum (parasite causing malaria), against SARS-Cov 2 (virus causing COVID-19), against multidrug-resistant bacteria, as well as in the activation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPR).

RESEARCH LINES

The multidisciplinary research group focuses its research on three aspects:  

• Study of the flora and vegetation of different ecological environments, including extreme ecological environments;  
• Study of plant ecology and the relationship of the organic and inorganic composition of plants with different biotic and abiotic environmental variables;  
• Search for plant extracts and compounds with bioactive properties. 

• Title: Study of biological activities and identification of compounds from extracts of wild and cultivated samples of Imperata cylindrica (L.) P. Beauv. (Poaceae). Period: 1/01/2024-31/12/2025. Funding: Research Grants of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 
• Title: Evaluation of the biological activities of extremophilic plant extracts. Period: 1/01/2022-31/12/2023. Funding: Research Grants from Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 
• Title: Extraction, isolation and identification of natural products with pharmacological interest from the halophytes Sarcocornia carinata, Suaeda braun-blanquetti and Juncus maritimus. Period: 1/01/2022-31/12/2023. Funding: Research Grants of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 
• Title: Study of halophytes from the interior of the Iberian Peninsula: characterization of biominerals, evaluation of biological activities and identification of compounds in their extracts. Period: 1/01/2020-31/12/2021. Funding: Research Grants of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 
•  Title: Characterization of halophytes from the inland salt marshes of the Iberian Peninsula and evaluation of the antioxidant capacity of their extracts. Period: 1/01/2018-31/12/2019. Funding: Research Grants of the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria. 
•  Title: Characterization of the ecophysiological responses of the halophyte species Sarcocornia carinata and evaluation of the antioxidant activity of its extracts. Period: 1/01/2016-31/12/2017. Funding: Research Grants from the Universidad Francisco de Vitoria 

• Dipol T, Bueno JM, Sáenz A, León M, González-Pacanowska D, Rufo L. Study of the composition and bioactivities of grasses from the Rio Tinto: Phragmites australis e Imperata cylindrica. Written communication. XVI Congress of Phytotherapy. City of Oviedo. May 17-19, 2024. 
• Bueno JM, Pérez-Moreno G, Cristina Bosch-Navarrete C, González-Pacanowska D, León M, Sáenz A, Rufo L. 2024. Analysis of the antiparasitic activity of halophyte plant extracts from the Iberian Peninsula. Written communication. XVI Congress of Phytotherapy. City of Oviedo. May 17-19, 2024. 
• Varela MJ, Bueno JM, Rufo L, Milligan G, Brea J, Loza MI. Identification of halophyte plant extracts as agonists of G Protein-Coupled Receptor 35 (GPR35). Written communication. SLAS Europe Conference. Barcelona. May 27-29, 2024. 
• Perezzan, Bueno JM, Grande MT, García E, Rufo L. Variation of the phenolic content and antioxidant activity of methanolic extracts of Sarcocornia carinata, an endemism of the Iberian Peninsula. Written communication. XX International Botanical Congress. July 21-27, 2024. 
• Ramírez E, Sánchez-Gavilán I, Rufo L, Sánchez-Mata D, Fuente V. 2022. Morphology, anatomy and phylogeny of the two sister halophytic genera Microcnemum and Arthrocnemum (Salicornioideae/Amaranthaceae). Plant Biosystems, 156 (6): 1422-1437. 
• Rufo L, Iglesias MT, Fuente V. 2021. The endemic halophyte Sarcocornia carinata Fuente, Rufo & Sánchez-Mata (Chenopodiaceae) in relation to environmental variables: elemental composition and biominerals. Plant and Soil 460: 189-209 
• Ramírez E, Rufo L, Sánchez-Mata D, Sánchez-Gavilán I, Fuente V. 2021. Arthrocnemum macrostachyum plant communities in the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic and Canary Islands (Spain and Portugal). In: Pedrotti F., Box E.O. (eds) Tools for Landscape-Scale Geobotany and Conservation. Geobotany Studies (Basics, Methods and Case Studies). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74950-7_12 
• Sánchez-Gavilán I, Rufo L, Rodríguez N, Fuente V. 2021. On the elemental composition of the Mediterranean euhalophyte Salicornia patula Duval-Jouve (Chenopodiaceae) from saline habitats in Spain (Huelva, Toledo and Zamora). Environmental Science and Pollution Research 28: 2719-2727 
• Rufo L, Iglesias MT, Rodríguez N, Ramírez E, Sánchez-Gavilán I, Fuente V. 2019. Mineralogy and seasonal variation of elemental composition of the endemic halophyte Sarcocornia carinata (Chenopodiaceae) in relation with the environmental variables. Written communication. 28th Meeting of the European Vegetation Survey. September 2-6, 2019 
• Ramirez E, Rufo L, Sanchez-Mata D, Fuente V. 2019. Arthrocnemum meridionalis (Chenopodiaceae), a new species of Mediterranean flora. Mediterranean botany: 40(1) 2019: 33-41 
• Fuente V, Rufo L, Sánchez-Gavilán I, Ramírez E, Rodríguez N and Amils R. 2018. Plant tissues and embryos biominerals in Sarcocornia pruinosa, a halophyte from the Río Tinto salt marshes. Minerals, 8, 505: 1-14 doi:10.3390/min8110505