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Bacillus megaterium is particularly known for its abundance in soils and its plant growth promotion. To characterize the metabolites excreted by this specie, we performed successive liquid/liquid extractions from bacteria culture medium with different polarity solvents (cyclohexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanol) to separate the metabolites in different polarity groups. The extracts were characterized regarding their total phenolic content, the amount of reducing sugar, the concentration of primary amines and proteins, their chromatographic profile by HPLC-DAD-ELSD and their chemical identification by GC-MS. Among the 75 compounds which are produced by the bacteria, 19 identifications were for the first time found as metabolites of B. megaterium and 23 were described for the first time as metabolites in Bacillus genus. The different extracts containing B. megaterium metabolites showed interesting agronomic activity, with a global inhibition of seed germination rates of soya, sunflower, corn and ray grass, but not of corn, compared to culture medium alone. Our results suggest that B. megaterium can produce various metabolites, like butanediol, cyclic dipeptides, fatty acids, and hydrocarbons, with diverse effects and sometimes with opposite effects in order to modulate its response to plant growth and adapt to various environmental effects. These findings provide new insight into bioactive properties of this species for therapeutic uses on plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rumex roseus L. (R. roseus) is acknowledged as an aromatic plant. For its excellent biological properties, it was used as a traditional medicine. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the chemical components and their effect as the biological activities of Tunisian extracts of R. roseus. Consecutive extractions by cold maceration of the aerial part with solvents of increasing polarity (cyclohexane (CYH), dichloromethane (DCM), and methanol (MeOH)) were performed, and the different chemical groups (phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, etc.) were identified. In addition, the volatile compounds of the obtained extracts were identified before and after derivatization. Moreover, their antioxidant and anticancer activities were evaluated. The analysis of HPLC-DAD revealed the identification of 18 components from organic extracts, among them are, for example, chlorogenic acid and shikonin, while GC-MS analysis allowed the detection of 34 volatile compounds. Some of those compounds were identified for the first time in plant extracts such as pyrazolo[3,4-d] pyrimidine-3,4(2H,5H)-dione (1); L-proline (16); 2-amino-3-hydroxybutanoic acid (19); L-(-)-arabitol (23); D-(-)-fructopyranose (25); and D-(+)-talopyranose (27). DPPH tests revealed that the most important antioxidant activity was found in the methanolic extract with 75.2% inhibition at 50 mg/L and that the highest cytotoxic activity against HCT-116 and MCF-7 was recorded in the dichloromethane extract with 62.1 and 80.0% inhibition at 50 mg/L, respectively. The biological activities were fully correlated with the chemical composition of the different extracts. So, we can suggest that R. roseus is a source of bioactive molecules that could be considered potential alternatives for use in dietary supplements for the prevention or treatment of diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]