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Honey intake is advantageous to human health due to its antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, all of which are attributed to the rich bioactive compound contents. Moreover, hepatoprotective, wound healing, and gastrointestinal protective properties have been documented. Honey's nutritional value is significantly affected by its chemical composition, which varies depending on botanical and geographical origin. In particular, after Manuka honey, Sidr honey from the Ziziphus species is the most popular. The chemical compositions, physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds, and sensory characteristics of two Sidr honey samples from Egypt and Saudi Arabia were investigated in the current study. Moisture content, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, free acidity (FA), total acidity, lactone hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content, and diastase (α-amylase) activity were measured. By using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (1HNMR), and solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography (GC-MS) analyses, the sugar profile, non-volatile, and volatile compounds were also identified. The physicochemical analysis revealed the following results for Sidr honey from Saudi Arabia and Egypt, respectively: a moisture content of 18.03 ± 0.05% and 19.03 ± 0.06%, EC values of 1.18 ± 0.05 and 1.16 ± 0.01 mS/cm, pH values of 4.87 ± 0.08 and 5.10 ± 0.01, FA of 37.50 ± 0.05 and 36.50 ± 0.05 meq/kg, total acidity of 41.06 ± 0.05 and 37.50 ± 0.05 meq/kg, lactone of 3.49 ± 0.005 and 1 ± 0.0 meq/kg, HMF of 20.92 ± 0.02 and 11.33 ± 0.01 mg/kg, and diastase of 59.97 ± 0.05 and 8.64 ± 0.06g/100 g. Honey from Saudi Arabia and Egypt displayed 22.51 ± 0.05 and 26.62 ± 0.16 % glucose, 40.33 ± 0.06 and 35.28 ± 0.01% fructose, 8.94 ± 0.17, and 8.87 ± 0.01% sucrose, and 8.22 ± 0.006 and 8.13 ± 0.01% maltose, respectively. According to the International Honey Commission (IHC) and GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) regulations, the levels of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose were near the standard levels. Flavonoids, sugars, vitamins, and nitrogen contents were additionally measured using LC-MS/MS, whereas GC-MS was employed to identify aldehydes, ketones, phenols, acids, esters, anthraquinone, hydrocarbons, and nitrogenous compounds. The results of a study on the effect of honey's geographic origin on its broad quality are summarized. As a result, knowing its optimal chemical and physical characteristics served as the criterion and indicator of the honey's quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The Egyptian honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) is one of the honeybee subspecies known for centuries since the ancient Egypt civilization. The subspecies of the Egyptian honeybee is distinguished by certain traits of appearance and behavior that were well-adapted to the environment and unique in a way that it is resistant to bee diseases, such as the Varroa disease. The subspecies is different than those found in Europe and is native to southern Egypt. Therefore, a special care should be paid to the vulnerable A. m. lamarckii subspecies and greater knowledge about the risk factors as well as conservation techniques will protect these bees. Additionally, more qualitative and quantitative measures will be taken to obtain deep insights into the A. m. lamarckii products' chemical profile and biological characters. Egypt has an ongoing long history with beekeeping, which started with the ancient Egyptians making various reliefs and inscriptions of beekeeping on their tombs and temples. The Egyptian honeybee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) is an authentic Egyptian honeybee subspecies utilized in apiculture. A. m. lamarckii is a distinct honeybee subspecies that has a particular body color, size, and high levels of hygienic behavior. Additionally, it has distinctive characteristics; including the presence of the half-queens, an excessive number of swarm cells, high adaptability to climatic conditions, good resistance to specific bee diseases, including the Varro disorder, and continuous breeding during the whole year despite low productivity, using very little propolis, and tending to abscond readily. This review discusses the history of beekeeping in Egypt and its current situation in addition to its morphology, genetic analysis, and distinctive characters, and the defensive behaviors of native A. m. lamarckii subspecies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the World Health Organization, two billion people will attain the age of 60 years or more by 2050. Ageing is a major risk factor for a number of neurodegenerative disorders, which currently possess challenge to the global health status, carrying economic and social consequences. Therefore, attention has been dedicated towards the development of neuroprotective agents derived from natural sources. Honeybee products, such as honey, bee pollen, bee bread, propolis, royal jelly, beeswax, and bee venom have been used for therapeutic purposes since ancient times in Egypt, Greece, and China. Despite the emergence of modern medicine, bee products remain clinically relevant owing to their potential as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective agents. This review demonstrates the potential of bee products against neurological disorders in the light of the current literature. Bee products and individual isolated components have enormous therapeutic potential for multiple neurological disorders. The different studies show overall neuroprotective and nerve-tonic characteristics of bee products, mainly due to their anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic features. However, some limitations such as allergic reactions and the cytotoxic effect of some bee products warrant a special care in its development as drug leads in future studies. Image 1 • Bee products have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties. • Dietary intake of bee products is suggested as a source of neuroprotective agents. • The polyphenols of bee products contribute in preventing neurological disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egyptian plants are a rich source of natural molecules, representing considerable biodiversity due to climate variations between the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western regions of the country. Sinai is considered a precious nature reserves preserving flora, fauna, marine organisms, and historical habitats with ancient origins. Here, traditional medicinal approaches have been used for hundreds of years. Healthy lifestyles, low levels of stress and microbial infections, and a dependence on flora and herbal medicine might in combination explain why the burden of cancer is lower in some regions than in others. The primary aim of this review is to document the plants and natural products that are used as foods and medicines in Egypt, in general, and in Sinai, in particular, with a focus on those with demonstrated anticancer activities. The documented traditional uses of these plants are described, together with their chemical and pharmacological activities and the reported outcomes of clinical trials against cancer. A literature search was performed to identify texts describing the medicinal plants that are cultivated and grown in Egypt, including information found in textbooks, published articles, the plant list website (http://www.theplantlist.org/), the medicinal plant names services website (http://mpns.kew.org/mpns-portal/), and web databases (PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar). We collected data for most of the plants cultivated or grown in Egypt that have been previously investigated for anticancer effects and reported their identified bioactive elements. Several plant species, belonging to different families and associated with 67 bioactive compounds, were investigated as potential anticancer agents (in vitro studies). The most potent cytotoxic activities were identified for the families Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Apocynaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Gramineae, and Liliaceae. The anticancer activities of some species, such as Punica granatum L., Nerium oleander L., Olea europea L. , Matricaria chamomilla L., Cassia acutifolia L., Nigella sativa L., Capsicum frutescens L., Withania somnifera L., and Zingiber officinale Roscoe, have been examined in clinical trials. Among the various Egyptian plant habitats, we found that most of these plants are grown in the North Sinai, New-Delta, and Giza Governorates. In this review, we highlight the role played by Egyptian flora in current medicinal therapies and the possibility that these plants may be examined in further studies for the development of anticancer drugs. These bioactive plant extracts form the basis for the isolation of phytochemicals with demonstrated anticancer activities. Some active components derived from these plants have been applied to preclinical and clinical settings, including resveratrol, quercetin, isoquercetin, and rutin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]