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Abstract Background The yellow jasmine flower (Jasminum humile L.) is a fragrant plant belonging to the Oleaceae family with promising phytoconstituents and interesting medicinal uses. The purpose of this study was to characterize the plant metabolome to identify the potential bioactive agents with cytotoxic effects and the underlying mechanism of cytotoxic activity. Methods First, HPLC–PDA-MS/MS was used to identify the potential bioactive compounds in the flowers. Furthermore, we assessed the cytotoxic activity of the flower extract against breast cancer (MCF-7) cell line using MTT assay followed by the cell cycle, DNA-flow cytometry, and Annexin V-FITC analyses alongside the effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS). Finally, Network pharmacology followed by a molecular docking study was performed to predict the pathways involved in anti-breast cancer activity. Results HPLC–PDA-MS/MS tentatively identified 33 compounds, mainly secoiridoids. J. humile extract showed a cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line with IC50 value of 9.3 ± 1.2 µg/mL. Studying the apoptotic effect of J. humile extract revealed that it disrupts G2/M phase in the cell cycle, increases the percentage of early and late apoptosis in Annexin V-FTIC, and affects the oxidative stress markers (CAT, SOD, and GSH-R). Network analysis revealed that out of 33 compounds, 24 displayed interaction with 52 human target genes. Relationship between compounds, target genes, and pathways revealed that J. humile exerts its effect on breast cancer by altering, Estrogen signaling pathway, HER2, and EGFR overexpression. To further verify the results of network pharmacology, molecular docking was performed with the five key compounds and the topmost target, EGFR. The results of molecular docking were consistent with those of network pharmacology. Conclusion Our findings suggest that J. humile suppresses breast cancer proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis partly by EGFR signaling pathway, highlighting J. humile as a potential therapeutic candidate against breast cancer.

Acacia Nilotica (AN) has long been used as a folk cure for asthma, but little is known about how AN could possibly modulate this disease. Thus, an in-silico molecular mechanism for AN’s anti-asthmatic action was elucidated utilizing network pharmacology and molecular docking techniques. DPED, PubChem, Binding DB, DisGeNET, DAVID, and STRING were a few databases used to collect network data. MOE 2015.10 software was used for molecular docking. Out of 51 searched compounds of AN, eighteen compounds interacted with human target genes, a total of 189 compounds-related genes, and 2096 asthma-related genes were found in public databases, with 80 overlapping genes between them. AKT1, EGFR, VEGFA, and HSP90AB were the hub genes, whereas quercetin and apigenin were the most active components. p13AKT and MAPK signaling pathways were found to be the primary target of AN. Outcomes of network pharmacology and molecular docking predicted that AN might exert its anti-asthmatic effect probably by altering the p13AKT and MAPK signaling pathway.

Wounds adversely affect people’s quality of life and have psychological, social, and economic impacts. Herbal remedies of Launaea procumbens (LP) are used to treat wounds. In an excision wound model, topical application of LP significantly promoted wound closure (on day 14, LP-treated animals had the highest percentages of wound closure in comparison with the other groups, as the wound was entirely closed with a closure percentage of 100%, p < 0.05). Histological analysis revealed a considerable rise in the number of fibroblasts, the amount of collagen, and its cross-linking in LP-treated wounds. Gene expression patterns showed significant elevation of TGF-β levels (2.1-fold change after 7 days treatment and 2.7-fold change in 14 days treatment) and downregulation of the inflammatory TNF-α and IL-1β levels in LP-treated wounds. Regarding in vitro antioxidant activity, LP extract significantly diminished the formation of H2O2 radical (IC50 = 171.6 μg/mL) and scavenged the superoxide radical (IC50 of 286.7 µg/mL), indicating antioxidant potential in a dose-dependent manner. Dereplication of the secondary metabolites using LC-HRMS resulted in the annotation of 16 metabolites. The identified compounds were docked against important wound-healing targets, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), collagen α-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Among dereplicated compounds, luteolin 8-C-glucoside (orientin) demonstrated binding potential to four investigated targets (VEGF, interleukin 1β, TNF-α, and collagen α-1). To conclude, Launaea procumbens extract could be regarded as a promising topical therapy to promote wound healing in excisional wounds, and luteolin 8-C-glucoside (orientin), one of its constituents, is a potential wound-healing drug lead.

Gastric ulceration is among the most serious humanpublic health problems. Olea europea L. cv. Arbequina is one of the numerous olive varieties which have scarcely been studied. The reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of the olive plant make it a potential prophylactic natural product against gastric ulcers. Consequently, the main goal of this study is to investigate the gastroprotective effect of Olea europea L. cv. Arbequina leaf extract. LC-HRMS-based metabolic profiling of the alcoholic extract of Olea europea L. cv. Arbequina led to the dereplication of 18 putative compounds (1–18). In vivo indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in a rat model was established and the Olea europea extract was tested at a dose of 300 mg kg−1 compared to cimetidine (100 mg kg−1). The assessment of gastric mucosal lesions and histopathology of gastric tissue was done. It has been proved that Olea europea significantly decreased the ulcer index and protected the mucosa from lesions. The antioxidant potential of the extract was evaluated using three in vitro assays, H2O2 scavenging, xanthine oxidase inhibitory, and superoxide radical scavenging activities and showed promising activities. Moreover, an in silico based study was performed on the putatively dereplicated compounds, which highlighted that 3-hydroxy tyrosol (4) and oleacein (18) can target the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme (5-LOX) as a protective mechanism against the pathogenesis of ulceration. Upon experimental validation, both compounds 3-hydroxy tyrosol (HT) and oleacein (OC) (4 and 18, respectively) exhibited a significant in vitro 5-LOX inhibitory activity with IC50 values of 8.6 and 5.8 µg/mL, respectively. The present study suggested a possible implication of O. europea leaves as a potential candidate having gastroprotective, antioxidant, and 5-LOX inhibitory activity for the management of gastric ulcers.

Bacterial biofilm contributes to antibiotic resistance. Developing antibiofilm agents, more favored from natural origin, is a potential method for treatment of highly virulent multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains; The potential of Pimenta dioica and Pimenta racemosa essential oils (E.Os) antibacterial and antibiofilm activities in relation to their chemical composition, in addition to their ability to treat Acinetobacter baumannii wound infection in mice model were investigated; P. dioica leaf E.O at 0.05 µg·mL−1 efficiently inhibited and eradicated biofilm formed by A. baumannii by 85% and 34%, respectively. Both P. diocia and P. racemosa leaf E.Os showed a bactericidal action against A. baumanii within 6h at 2.08 µg·mL−1. In addition, a significant reduction of A. baumannii microbial load in mice wound infection model was found. Furthermore, gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis revealed qualitative and quantitative differences among P. racemosa and P. dioica leaf and berry E.Os. Monoterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, and phenolics were the major detected classes. β-Myrcene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, and eugenol were the most abundant volatiles. While, sesquiterpenes were found as minor components in Pimenta berries E.O; Our finding suggests the potential antimicrobial activity of Pimenta leaf E.O against MDR A. baumannii wound infections and their underlying mechanism and to be further tested clinically as treatment for MDR A. baumannii infections.