Antioxidant activity of some Morrocan hydrosols

Essential oils are used in Cosmetic, Perfumery, Food and Pharmaceutical Industries as flavours and/or medicines. However, part of the essential oil components that remains in the distillation water (hydrosol or distillate water) has been less studied both in chemical and biological terms. This research concerns the antioxidant activity, measured through several methods, of Lavandula officinalis L., Origanum majorana L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Salvia officinalis L. and Thymus vulgaris L., Cinnamomum verum J. Presl. and Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill and Perry hydrosols. The ability of hydrosols to prevent oxidation was checked by two main methods: prevention of lipid peroxidation through the measurement of malonaldehyde produced after degradation of hydroperoxides; and ability for scavenging free radicals including hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals. The S. aromaticum and T. vulgaris hydrosols, predominantly constituted by eugenol and carvacrol, respectively, were the most effective as antioxidants, except for scavenging superoxide anion radical. In this case, L. officinalis hydrosol in which linalool prevailed was a stronger antioxidant. The worst hydrosol as antioxidant was that of S. officinalis, independent on the method checked.

Framework for the characterization of hotel websites

Nowadays the importance of websites to the tourism and hospitality industries is fundamental. Hotels, for instance, spend a huge amount of money improving their websites to show all the activities and amenities that they can provide. There are studies to evaluate website performance based on functionality, usability and other factors; nevertheless, they are not exhaustive. This paper presents a framework for the characterization of hotel and resort websites, that was applied as a case study to the websites of 5-star hotels and resorts that operate in the tourism region of the Algarve, Portugal. This framework allows us to identify a set of features for the hotel and resort websites characterization. From these features, we propose a set of comprehensive indicators, grouping them into ten fundamental information dimensions, as well as the application of these indicators and information dimensions, which allows obtaining quantitative and qualitative results.