## 3 Results
### Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Relative Antioxidant Capacity Index (RACI)  
A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted for an overview of interactions and distribution of the studied parameters across different species and seasons. Temperature, total rainfall, crude protein, lipids, and K were excluded from the analysis due to their low contributions to variance (Figure 5A). The first two principal components (PC) accounted for 59.4% of total variation, with PC1 (34.8%) primarily differentiating samples based on ash, Na, phenolics (TPC, ITC, and CTC) and antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, CCA, and FRAP), while PC2 (24.6%) was driven by ash, minerals (Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn), and CTC. As previously noticed, samples clustered more distinctly by species rather than seasons. Species with higher phenolic contents and lower IC\({}_{50}\) values in antioxidant assays, namely, _P. lentiscus_, _L. monopetalum_, _C. mariscus_, _H. italicum picardii_, and _P. coronopus_, were positioned on the left side of the biplot. Significant positive correlations were verified between phenolic contents, while negative associations were registered between these species and antioxidant activity (Figure 5B). _H. italicum picardii_ samples, located in the top-left quadrant, were characterized by high flavonoid and micromineral (Mn, Zn, and Cu) levels, whilst _I. crithmoides_ samples were on the opposite side, influenced by their high ash and Na levels, along with low phenolic contents and weaker antioxidant effects. The high ash values of samples were largely attributed to elevated Na and Mg levels, as evidenced by positive correlations between ash and these elements (Figure 5B). Significant positive correlations between Mn, Cu, and Zn were also noted (Figure 5B), highlighting potential interactions that may influence their nutritional contributions. However, weaker associations between TFC, TPC, ash, and Na were observed (Figure 5B), suggesting that phenolic accumulation was more pronounced in plants with lower Na levels, which may be linked to species-specific salinity tolerance mechanisms. Indeed, the findings of other works sustain these results [34; 35], as they suggest that highly salt-tolerant plants, being well-adapted to high Na levels, do not experience oxidative stress that would trigger an antioxidant defense response, leading to lower phenolic metabolite production.  
In addition to PCA, the Relative Antioxidant Capacity Index (RACI), previously used to rank the antioxidant capacity of foods and algae [29; 36; 37], combined the results obtained in TPC, CCA, DPPH, CCA, ABTS, and FRAP for each sample, providing higher ratings for the most promising extracts, regardless of species or season (Figure 6). Altogether, these combined and individual results allowed the selection of _P. lentiscus_ and _P. coronopus_ Wisamples, as well as _L. monopetulum_, _C. mariscus_, and _H. italicum_ harvested during Su, to be further characterized by HPLC-DAD analysis for their phenolic profiles.  
Figure 5: (**A**) Scatterplot of the principal component analysis (PCA) conducted using PAST 5 software, including data scores for each sample analyzed, represented by distinctive geometric shapes according to harvesting season, and loadings of the analyzed parameters on PC1 (24.2%) and PC2 (39.3%). Samples corresponding to the same species are identified in the oval shapes of different colors: PL, _P. lenticus_; _HI_, _H. italicum picardi_; LM, _L. monopetulum_; CM, _C. mariscus_; CS, _C. soldanella_; PC, _P. coronopus_; CC, _C. maritim_; MM, _M. marina_; IC, _I. crithmoides_. (**B**) [PERSON]’s correlation matrix of the studied parameters: dark blue and dark yellow, respectively, correspond to stronger negative and positive correlations between investigated factors.