recent years has seen interests in resurrection plants other than their ability to withstand extreme dryness. the metabolites, sugar alcohols, and sugar acids present in these plants may be applied as natural products for medicinal purposes and in biotechnology. during desiccation, the levels of the sugars sucrose, raffinose, and galactinol increase; they may have a crucial role in protecting the cells against damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ros) and oxidative stress. besides having anti-oxidant properties, other compounds extracted from some resurrection plants showed anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. a glycoside found in "haberlea rhodopensis" called myconoside is extracted and used in cosmetic creams as a source of anti-oxidant as well as to increase elasticity of the human skin. although there are other molecules in these plants that may be of benefit, it is still much less studied than the primary metabolites mentioned above.