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The recent study was designed to explore Dodonaea viscosa, Juniperus excelsa, Helianthemum lippii, and Euryops pinifolius using methanolic (MeOH) extract. Their subfractions were examined against urease, carbonic anhydrase II (CA-II), α-glucosidase enzymes, and free radicals scavenging significance based on local practices via standard methods. Significance potential against the urease enzyme was presented by ethyl acetate fraction (EtOAc) of D. viscosa with (I C 50 = 125 ± 1.75 μg/mL), whereas the H. lippii (I C 50 = 1 46 ± 1.39 μg/mL) in the EtOAc was found efficient to scavenge the free radicals. Besides, that appreciable capacity was observed by the J. excelsa, D. viscosa, J. excelsa, and E. pinifolius as compared to the standard acarbose (I C 50 = 377.24 ± 1.14 μg/mL). Maximum significance was noticed in methanolic (MeOH) extract of J. excelsa and presented carbonic anhydrase CA-II (I C 50 = 5.1 ± 0.20 μg/mL) inhibition as compared to the standard (acetazolamide). We are reporting, for the first time, the CA-II inhibition of all the selected medicinal plants and α-glucosidase, urease, and antioxidant activities of the E. pinifolius. Thus, further screening is needed to isolate the promising bioactive ingredients which act as an alternative remedy to scavenge the free radicals, antiulcer, and act as a potential source to develop new antidiabetic drugs for controlling postprandial blood sugar as well as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of CA inhibition activity and the identification of the components of the essential oil of Frankenia pulverulenta (FPEO) and Boerhavia elegans (BEEO) were undertaken for the first time in this study. Twenty-five components were identified using Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in the FPEO, representing 92.7 % of the total oil. The major components were β-caryophyllene (32.5 %), δ-cadinene (8.4 %), alloaromadendrene (7.1 %), copaene (6.9 %), and ledol (5.3 %). Similarly, the BEEO contained 13 components representing 92.9 % of the total oil with β-caryophyllene (17.1 %) and β-amyrin (13.7 %) as the major components. The results determined that the FPEO was a rich source of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (69.8 %), while BEEO contains a higher concentration of aliphatic hydrocarbons (46.4 %). The EOS of both plants were further screened for carbonic anhydrase II (CA-II), and antimicrobial activities. Essential oil of F. pulverulenta exhibited significant CA-II activity with 101.5±2.35 % inhibition, while B. elegans essential oil presented promising bactericidal and fungicidal activities against Escherichia coli (Gramnegative bacteria) and Penicillium simplicissimumi. These results indicate that the essential oil of B. elegans can inhibit the growth of Gram-negative bacteria and fungi. In addition, FPEO significantly inhibited CA and might have the potential to be used for the treatment of CA-related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopic method combined with multivariate calibration was developed for the determination of the amount of sucrose in date fruits growing in the Sultanate of Oman. In this study two groups of samples were used: one group of 48 sucrose standard solutions in the concentration range from 0.01% to 50% (w/v) and another group of 54 date fruit samples of 18 different varieties. The sucrose standard samples were split in two sets, i.e. one training set of 31 samples and one test set of 17 samples. All samples were measured with a NIR spectrophotometer in the wavelength range from 700 to 2500 nm. The spectra collected were preprocessed using baseline correction and Savitzky–Golay 1st derivative. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) was used to build the regression model with the training set of 31 samples. This model was then validated by using random leave-one-out cross-validation. Later, the PLS regression model was externally validated by using the test set of 17 samples of known sucrose concentration. The root mean squared error of prediction (RMSEP) was found to be of 1.5%, which shows a good prediction ability of the model. Finally, the PLS model was applied to the spectra of 54 date fruit samples to quantify their sucrose amount. It was found that the Khalas , Barnia Nizwi , Ajwa Almadina , Maan , and Khunizi varieties contain high amounts of sucrose, i.e. ranging from 36% to 60%, while Naghal , Fardh , Nashu and Qash Tabaq varieties contain the least amount of sucrose, ranging from 3.5% to 8.1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated the anticancer potential of the medicinal herb, Cleome droserifolia (CD), a local plant of the Arabian Peninsula. C. droserifolia is traditionally known for its rubefacient, anti-diabetic, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties., Methods: Organic fractions of the aerial parts of Cleome droserifolia harvested from the Arabian Peninsula were tested in human breast and cervical cancer cell lines for their anticancer potential. This was accomplished by using biochemical and cellular assays, including MTT, caspase Glo, western blot, and annexin V/propidium iodide-based flow cytometry analyses., Results: Test of the dichloromethane fraction of the methanolic extract of C. droserifolia, (CDD) revealed potent cytotoxic activity (from 70 to 90%) against several human cancer cell lines, including MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and HeLa. Further characterization of the CDD fraction in MCF-7 cells revealed that it could activate the enzymatic activity of various caspases in a statistically significant manner, and induce cleavage of both caspase 7 and poly ADB ribose polymerase (PARP) proteins, but not the ethyl acetate fraction. Test of the ability of CDD to induce early signs of apoptosis was validated by annexin V/propidium iodide assay using FACS analysis. Induction of apoptosis was completely reversed by the classic pan inhibitor of apoptosis, Z-VAD-FMK, reducing early apoptosis from 29.7 to 0.6%, confirming that CDD could induce caspase-dependent apoptosis., Conclusions: Altogether, our results reveal that C. droserifolia is a valuable medicinal plant with bioactive molecules that can induce apoptosis in human cancer cells. Thus, this plant should be explored further for its potential as an anticancer natural therapy as well as the isolation of novel molecules with anticancer properties.

Elucidation of bioactive chemical compounds from rhizobacteria is highly utilized in pharmaceuticals and naturopathy, due to their health benefits to human and plants. In current study, four cyclopeptides along with one phenyl amide were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Bacillus velezensis sp. RA5401. Their structures were determined and characterized as cycle (L-prolyl-L-leucyl) 2 (1), cyclo (L-prolyl-l-valine) 2 (2), cycle (L-phenylanalyl-L-propyl) 2 (3), cyclo (D-pro-L-tyr-L-pro-L-tyr) 2 (4) and N-(2-phenylethyl)acetamide (5) on the basis of electron spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques and comparison with the literature data. The five compounds have been isolated for the first time from this species. The effect of various concentrations of these compounds on the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was examined. It was found that 1 and 2 induced concentration-independent anti-proliferative effects, while 3, 4 and 5 inhibited cancer cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, to determine the suitable binding targets of these compounds within cancer cell line, detailed target prediction and comparative molecular-docking studies were performed. The compounds 1 and 2 hit intracellular anti-cancer targets of proteases family, while compounds 3, 4 and 5 interacted with different membrane receptors of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs). In conclusion, the Bacillus velezensis RA5401 can be an ideal strain to produce anti-proliferative constituents at industrial scale., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)