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A new hydrazone, ethyl Z-2-(pyridine-2yl-methylene)hydrazinecarboxylate (C9H11N3O2; Hpyec) and its metal complexes bis(ethyl Z-2-(pyridine-2yl-methylene)hydrazinecarboxylate)nickel(II) monohydrate, [Ni(pyec)2]·H2O (1) and bis(acetato)(ethyl Z-2-(pyridine-2yl-methylene)hydrazinecarboxylate)cadmium(II), [Cd(Hpyec)(CH3COO)2] (2), have been prepared by mechanochemical syntheses and characterized by elemental analysis, UV–vis, IR and NMR spectroscopies, TG-DTA, and solid state emission techniques. The X-ray single crystal structures of both complexes were determined. In 1, the Ni2+ ion is coordinated by two N,N,O-tridentate anionic ligands to generate a distorted cis-NiO2N4 octahedron. In 2, the cadmium ion is seven-coordinate by one neutral N,N,O-tridentate ligand and two chelating acetate ions to generate a very-distorted CdN2O5 pentagonal bipyramid with the Hpyec atoms occupying both axial and one equatorial site. Crystal data: 1, C18H22N6NiO5, M r = 461.12, monoclinic, P21/c, a = 10.8759(3) Å, b = 11.7055(4) Å, c = 16.8424(5) Å, β = 108.583(1)°, V = 2032.38(11) Å3, Z = 4, R(F) = 0.023, wR(F 2) = 0.065; 2, C13H17CdN3O6, M r = 423.69, monoclinic, Cc, a = 13.0215(10) Å, b = 15.8104(11) Å, c = 7.99(6) Å, β = 96.692(2)°, V = 1621.7(2) Å3, Z = 4, R(F) = 0.017, wR(F 2) = 0.038.

The calcium oxalate reduction capacity of Argemone mexicana was demonstrated in vivo in ethylene glycol-induced urolithic rats. A. mexicana leaves extract at 400 and 750 mg kg−1 b.w. demonstrated p...

Background: Nucleus targeted drug delivery provides several opportunities for the treatment of fatal diseases such as cancer. However, the complex nucleocytoplasmic barriers pose significant challenges for delivering a drug directly and efficiently into the nucleus. Aptamers representing singlestranded DNA and RNA qualify as next-generation highly advanced and personalized medicinal agents that successfully inhibit the expression of certain proteins; possess extraordinary gene-expression for manoeuvring the diseased cell's fate with negligible toxicity. In addition, the precisely directed aptamers to the site of action present a tremendous potential to reach the nucleus by escaping the ensuing barriers to exhibit a better drug activity and gene expression. Objective: This review epigrammatically highlights the significance of targeted drug delivery and presents a comprehensive description of the principal barriers faced by the nucleus targeted drug delivery paradigm and ensuing complexities thereof. Eventually, the progress of nucleus targeting with nucleic acid aptamers and success achieved so far have also been reviewed. Method: Systematic literature search was conducted of research published to date in the field of nucleic acid aptamers. Conclusion: The review specifically points out the contribution of individual aptamers as the nucleustargeting agent rather than aptamers in conjugated form.

The prevalence of colon-associated diseases has increased significantly over the past several decades, as evidenced by accumulated literature on conditions such as Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer, and ulcerative colitis. Developing therapeutics for these diseases is challenging due to physiological barriers of the colon, systemic side effects, and the intestinal environment. Therefore, in a search for novel methods to overcome some of these problems, researchers discovered that microbial metabolism by gut microbiotia offers a potential method for targeted drug delivery This overview highlights several drug delivery systems used to modulate the microbiota and improve colon-targeted drug delivery. This technology will be important in developing a new generation of therapies which harness the metabolism of the human gut microflora.

Background: Colon cancer is the most aggressive form of cancers, that causes 0.5 million deaths per year around the globe. Targeting colon cancer by conventional therapeutic options elicits toxicity. Traditional medicines take a lead to alleviate the existing clinical challenges. Objective: To investigate antibacterial activity against Helicobacter Pylori and in vitro anti-colon cancer activity by Acacia nilotica extract (ACE) and its active constituent pyrogallol. Methods: Pyrogallol isolated from A. nilotica by column chromatography and HPLC and structure was elucidated by spectral analysis. Antibacterial activity was done by flow cytometry. Cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay. Apoptotic morphology and nuclear fragmentation were assessed with AO/ethidium bromide and DAPI staining. DNA fragmentation was done by electrophoresis. Western blot used to analyze the molecular mechanism of apoptosis. Cell cycle arrest was determined using flow cytometry of propidium iodide stained cells. Cell migration was determined by wound healing assay. Results: ACE (20 µg/ml) and pyrogallol (10 µg/ml) treatment reduced the survival of H.pylori at 61% and 62%, respectively. MTT results show that HT-29 cells are more sensitive to pyrogallol with an IC50 value of 35μg/ml compared to ACE. Pyrogallol treated HT-29 cells reached dead state i.e. late apoptotic state with severe nuclear fragmentation. Pyrogallol elicits dose dependent DNA fragmentation in HT-29 cells. Pyrogallol induced apoptosis by simultaneous down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of BAX and cytochrome c. Pyrogallol arrested HT-29 cells in S and G2/M phase of cell cycle. Further pyrogallol exhibited marked antimetastatic potential by inhibiting the migration of HT-29 cells dose dependently. Conclusion: Both ACE and pyrogallol repressed the growth of H.pylori and as significant anti-colon cancer agent.

The plant leaf extracts of Acacia nilotica were investigated for its antibacterial activity, antioxidant activity, anticancer activity and their chemical profiling. The gram positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 737, Bacillus subtilis MTCC 441, Bacillus megaterium MTCC 441, Bacillus cereus MTCC 6840, Bacillus aryabhattai MTCC 14579 and gram negative bacteria like Pseudomonas putida MTCC 1194, Escherichia coli MTCC 1302, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 4727, Serratia marcescens MTCC 4822 were tested for their sensitivity towards methanol, ethanol, acetone and chloroform extracts of A. nilotica . Gram positive bacteria were highly sensitive for all the extracts tested, whereas gram negative bacteria showed less sensitive. A. nilotica extracts were able to scavenge the DPPH radicals in the order of acetone A. nilotica was observed to be an effective anti-bacterial and antioxidant agent compare to other extracts. We tested both acetone and methanol extract for anti-cancer activity on MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer), HEp-2 (cervical cancer), and normal vero cells, the result found that both acetone and methanol extract for A. nilotica showed significant MDA-MB-231 and HEp-2 cell death by sparing normal vero cells. Interestingly, GC-MS analysis chemical profiling revealed the presence of potent active principle compound which might be possible reason to exhibit anti-bacterial, antioxidant and anti-cancer activity.

Piceatannol (PIC) is known to have anticancer activity, which has been attributed to its ability to block the proliferation of cancer cells via suppression of the NF-kB signaling pathway. However, its effect on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is not well known in cancer. In this study, PIC was loaded into bovine serum albumin (BSA) by desolvation method as PIC&ndash, BSA nanoparticles (NPs). These PIC&ndash, BSA nanoparticles were assessed for in vitro cytotoxicity, migration, invasion, and colony formation studies and levels of p65 and HIF-1&alpha, Our results indicate that PIC&ndash, BSA NPs were more effective in downregulating the expression of nuclear p65 and HIF-1&alpha, in colon cancer cells as compared to free PIC. We also observed a significant reduction in inflammation induced by chemical colitis in mice by PIC&ndash, BSA NPs. Furthermore, a significant reduction in tumor size and number of colon tumors was also observed in the murine model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer, when treated with PIC&ndash, BSA NPs as compared to free PIC. The overall results indicate that PIC, when formulated as PIC&ndash, BSA NPs, enhances its therpautice potential. Our work could prompt further research in using natural anticancer agents as nanoparticels with possiable human clinical trails. This could lead to the development of a new line of safe and effective therapeutics for cancer patients.

Background: Crocus sativus and its major constituent crocin are well established to have anti-cancer properties in breast cancer cells (MCF-7). However the role of C. sativus extract (CSE) and crocin on caspase signaling mediated MCF-7 cell death at molecular level is remains unclear. In this study, we tried to unravel role of CSE and crocin on caspase mediated MCF-7 cells death and their in vivo preclinical toxicity profiling and immune stimulatory effect. Materials and Methods: CSE extract was fractionated by HPLC and crocin was isolated and characterized by NMR, IR, and MS. MCF-7 cells were treated with both CSE and crocin and expression of Bcl-2 and Bax was assessed after 24 and 36 hours. Furthermore, caspase 3, caspase 8 and caspase 9 expression was determined by Western blotting after 24 hours of treatment. DNA fragmentation analysis was performed for genotoxicity of CSE and crocin in MCF-7 cells. The in vivo toxicity profile of CSE (300 mg/kg of b.wt) was investigated in normal Swiss albino mice. In addition, peritoneal macrophages were collected from crocin (1, 1.5 and 2 mg/kg body weight) treated mice and analyzed for ex vivo yeast phagocytosis. Results: Immunoblot analysis revealed that there was time dependent decline in anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 with simultaneous upregulation of Bax in CSE and crocin treated MCF-7 cells. Further CSE and crocin treatment downregulated caspase 8 and 9 and cleaved the caspase 3 after 24 hours. Both CSE and crocin elicited considerable DNA damage in MCF-7 cells at each concentration tested. In vivo toxicity profile by histological studies revealed no observable histopathologic differences in the liver, kidney, spleen, lungs and heart in CSE treated and untreated groups. Crocin treatment elicited significant dose and time dependent ex vivo yeast phagocytosis by peritoneal macrophages. Conclusions: Our study delineated involvement of pro-apoptotic and caspase mediated MCF-7 cell death by CSE and crocin at the molecular level accompanied with extensive DNA damage. Further we found that normal swiss albino mice can tolerate the maximum dose of CSE. Crocin enhanced ex vivo macrophage yeast phagocytic ability.

Objectives To evaluate the anti-proliferative potential of Oman's Ganoderma applanatum on triple negative breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231), cervical cancer cells (HEp-2) and Vero cells (normal) and its chemical profiling of G. applanatum. Methods The cytotoxicity of the methanolic extract of G. applanatum was tested on MDA-MB-231 cells, HEp-2 cells and Vero cells by microculture tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The anti-cancer properties of G. applanatum were characterized using gas chromatography coupled with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis. Results The methanolic extract of G. applanatum elicited dose-dependent cell death on both MDA-MB-231 and HEp-2 cells after 24 h of treatment, with an IC 50 value of 84.6 μg/ml and 43.2 μg/ml, respectively. Normal vero cells were able to significantly withstand the treatment. Furthermore, seven molecules were identified from G. applanatum by GCMS analysis, and five of them were present in considerable amounts, namely, γ-terpinene (30.3%), d -limonene (23.6%), cis-2-methyl-4-pentylthiane-s,s-dioxide (15.3%), β-cymene (12.7%) and α-terpinolene (8.1%). Conclusion In this study, surprisingly, G. applanatum exhibited toxicity particularly towards tumour cells (MDA-MB-231 and HEp-2) compared to normal vero cells. This tumour-specific chemo-sensitivity of G. applanatum is unclear, and the mechanism of cancer cell death induced by G. applanatum should be studied in detail. In addition, the observed anti-cancer activity of G. applanatum might be due to the synergistic effects of the identified properties. This would pave the way for isolation and characterization of the potential anti-cancer molecule from Oman's G. applanatum .

New copper(II) complexes [Cu(Pytc)(Cl)2]·2H2O (1) and [Cu2(tzp)2(CH3COO)4] (2) (Pytc = tert-butyl 2-(pyridine-2yl-methylene)hydrazinecarboxylate; tzp = 1,2,3-triazolo[1,5-a]pyridine) were prepared and were characterized by elemental analysis, electron impact mass spectrometry, UV–visible spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and photoluminescence studies. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of 2 revealed a paddle-wheel copper(II) acetate structure with tzp acting as a monodentate ligand coordinated axially. Pytc and the metal complexes showed emissive, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. Furthermore, 2 was demonstrated to be a solid-state single-source precursor to form Cu and CuO nanoparticles (NPs) under different atmospheric conditions. By transmission electron microscopy, the as-prepared nanoparticles were observed to be roughly spherical with average particle sizes of approximately 10–12 nm for Cu NPs and approximately 20–22 nm for CuO NPs. Furthermore, high crystallinity, high purity, and the single-phase nature of the as-prepared NPs were revealed by the powder X-ray diffraction pattern.

Piceatannol (PIC) is known to have anticancer activity, which has been attributed to its ability to block the proliferation of cancer cells via suppression of the NF-kB signaling pathway. However, its effect on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is not well known in cancer. In this study, PIC was loaded into bovine serum albumin (BSA) by desolvation method as PIC-BSA nanoparticles (NPs). These PIC-BSA nanoparticles were assessed for in vitro cytotoxicity, migration, invasion, and colony formation studies and levels of p65 and HIF-1α. Our results indicate that PIC-BSA NPs were more effective in downregulating the expression of nuclear p65 and HIF-1α in colon cancer cells as compared to free PIC. We also observed a significant reduction in inflammation induced by chemical colitis in mice by PIC-BSA NPs. Furthermore, a significant reduction in tumor size and number of colon tumors was also observed in the murine model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer, when treated with PIC-BSA NPs as compared to free PIC. The overall results indicate that PIC, when formulated as PIC-BSA NPs, enhances its therpautice potential. Our work could prompt further research in using natural anticancer agents as nanoparticels with possiable human clinical trails. This could lead to the development of a new line of safe and effective therapeutics for cancer patients.

Various secondary metabolites having medicinal values are isolated from different medicinal plants. Rosmarinic acid is a dimer of caffeic acid, and a vital antioxidant reported with numerous biological properties, such as anticancer, antimicrobial, analgesic, etc. Initially, rosmarinic acid was isolated from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) belonging to the family, Lamiaceae. Subsequently, the existence of rosmarinic acid was identified in different medicinal plants, such as basil, salvia, lavender, etc., belonging to the families, Lamiaceae and Boraginaceae. The low content of rosmarinic acid in field-grown plant parts and seasonal variation are the major limitations of its continuous supply for medicinal purposes. Alternatively, plant tissue culture is a superior and attractive strategy to enhance the rosmarinic acid content. The cell culture technique facilitates sustainable production of rosmarinic acid in a controlled environment, and it is well established. To enhance the rosmarinic acid content in herbs different tissue culture approaches, such as callus induction, hairy root culture, Agrobacterium infection induced callus, precursors (phenylalanie and tyrosine) addition in callus suspension culture, and elicitation by supplementing yeast extract and methyl jasmonate in callus suspension have been followed by several researchers. Further metabolic engineering is the promising approach where expression of rate limiting enzymes of rosmarinic acid synthesis pathway is over expressed by molecular cloning. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) are well-known enzymes involved in rosmarinic acid biosynthesis. PAL and TAT are well characterized at molecular level, and their overexpression facilitated increases in biosynthesis of rosmarinic acid (RA) in different plants. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to explore the biological activity of rosmarinic acid and its production enhancement through various biotechnological approaches including plant cell culture, elicitation, hairy root culture, and metabolic engineering.

Citral is the main product of the lemongrass. Citral is found in various oils extracted from different plant species including Lemon myrtle, Listea citrata, etc. Citral, the most significant natural occurring metabolite, having strong lemon smell and essence, is commonly applied as additives in diets, drinks, and maquillages with high purchaser acceptance. Citral is found in two forms, E-isomer and Z-isomer. E-isomer is generally identified as geraniol or citral A, while Z-isomers as neral or citral B. Citral is an aroma compound and generally used in perfumery. Citral is naturally unstable and vitiates in both water and watery solutions due to catalyzation and oxidation of acidic part of citral which decreases the natural flavor of citral and makes off-flavors. Citral has strong sensitizing effect that is why it can be used only with anti-sensitizing agent. Some reports indicated the allergic effect of citral on people. Extensive work has been done to explore the various aspects related to citral such as extraction from different species, synthesis of synthetic drugs, production, characterization, etc. There are several reports related to antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal properties of citral content. The present chapter summarizes the work on citral content in various aspects carried out in the last decades in relation to their traditional and modern uses as culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic and also deals with quality issues and toxicity.

Background: Colon cancer is aggressive and it causes 0.5 million deaths per year. Practicing natural medicines for cancer treatment is safer than conventional drugs. World health organization emphasizes on the importance of practicing natural medicines and developing natural product based drugs for cancer treatment. Recently we reported an anti colon cancer activity associated with pyrogallol isolated from medicinal plant Acacia nilotica in HT-29 cells in vitro. To extend our observation in this study we evaluated in vivo colon tumor remission property of acetone extract of A. nilotica (ACE) and pyrogallol. Materials and Methods: In vivo toxicity of ACE and pyrogallol was assessed and In vivo tumor remission activity of ACE and pyrogallol was determined in murine model. Results: Mice were tolerated different doses of ACE and pyrogallol. Tumor size was considerably reduced in pyrogallol treated mice similar to doxorubicin. Tumor bearing mice treated with ACE and pyrogallol showed mild decline in body weight. Conclusion: Pyrogallol was found to be an effective anti colon cancer agent with less toxicity.

In this study, the antioxidant property of leaf and callus extracts of five selected in vitro grown Ocimum species (Ocimum sanctum, Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Ocimum gratissimum, Ocimum basilicum, and Ocimum americanum) and their respective callus extracts was investigated. The callus cultures were successfully initiated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) (1 mg·L) combined with different concentrations (0.1-0.4 mg·L) of kinetin as plant growth regulators. Total phenolic contents were esti- mated using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent. 1,1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power, Fe 2+ chelating activity, and β-carotene- linoleic acid bleaching assays were used to determine the biological effects of the extracts. Interestingly, all the callus extracts exhibited significant (p

Crocus sativus and its bioactive constituent crocin are well known for anti-tumor potential in different models. However, the efficacy of crocin on in-vivo melanoma metastasis is not yet reported. In this study, melanoma metastatic model was developed by tail vein injection of B16F-10 cells in to C57BL/6 mice. Metastatic mice treated with two different doses of crocin (250 and 500 µg/kg of bodyweight) for 10 days and parameters such as lung metastasis inhibition, mean survival time, lung hydroxyproline, uronic acid and hexosamine levels were analyzed after 21 days of treatment. Then blood was collected and serum gamma glutamyl transpeptidase ( g-GGT), sialic acid, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 10 (IL-10), IL-6, IL-2, and TIMP-1 levels were measured. Further, a lung histological examination was done in crocin treated metastatic mice. Subsequently hallmark metastatic parameters such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), extracellular regulated kinase 2 (ERK2), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and K-ras gene expression were investigated in the lungs of crocin treated metastatic mice. Further, in-vitro adhesion, invasion and migration of B16F-10 cells were examined after 24 hours of crocin (5 and 10 µg/mL) treatment. Administration of crocin to tumor bearing C57BL/6 mice reduced the lung metastasis by 85%. Elevated levels of hydroxyproline, uronic acid, hexosamine, serum sialic acid and g-GGT in metastatic control were found to be significantly reduced in crocin treated mice. Crocin also inhibited expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, ERK-2, K-ras, and VEGF. Crocin reduced the ability of B16F-10 cells invasion (P

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder of early childhood, and an enumeration about its etiology and consequences is still limited. Oxidative stress-induced mechanisms are believed to be the major cause for ASD. In this study 19 autistic and 19 age-matched normal Omani children were recruited to analyze their degree of redox status and a prewritten consent was obtained. Blood was withdrawn from subjects in heparin-coated tube, and plasma was separated. Plasma oxidative stress indicators such as nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl, and lactate to pyruvate ratio were quantified using commercially available kits. A significant elevation was observed in the levels of NO, MDA, protein carbonyl, and lactate to pyruvate ratio in the plasma of Omani autistic children as compared to their age-matched controls. These oxidative stress markers are strongly associated with major cellular injury and manifest severe mitochondrial dysfunction in autistic pathology. Our results also suggest that oxidative stress might be involved in the pathogenesis of ASD, and these parameters could be considered as diagnostic markers to ensure the prevalence of ASD in Omani children. However, the oxidative stress-induced molecular mechanisms in ASD should be studied in detail.

Ionising radiation (γ or X-rays) is the mandatory tool to treat cancer despite its detrimental effects in particular on skin cells which lead to severe dermatological diseases and carcinogenesis. Natural antioxidants caffeic acid (CA), rosmarinic acid (RA), trans cinnamic acid (TCA), p-coumaric acid (PCA), and hydroxyphenyllactic acid (HPA) acid are known to be potent anticancer and antioxidant agents. Current study is designed to provide experimental evidence as these compounds offer radiation protection for skin cells. Non-toxic concentrations of CA, RA, TCA, PCA, and HPA were tested for radiation protection, γ-radiation induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) by flow cytometry and DNA double strand break in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) by immunocytochemistry. CA, RA and TCA pretreatment can protect the HaCaT cells by 40%, 20%, 15% respectively through scavenging γ-radiation induced ROS and decreasing number of post irradiation 53bp1 foci. Inclusion of these compounds in chemo-radiotherapy could facilitate to achieve multiple target protection (i.e. anti-cancer and skin radio protectant).

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a severe neuro-developmental disorder with poorly understood etiology. Numerous studies evidenced that oxidative stress and altered antioxidant status could be involved in the pathophysiology of ASD. It is also reported that the altered levels of antioxidant proteins such as ceruloplasmin (copper-binding protein) and transferrin (iron-binding protein) could enhance the oxidative stress directly or indirectly and it can considerably retard acquired language skills in autistic children. But these types of studies in children with autism in Oman were not available. Materials and Methods: To reveal this paradigm, in this study, we evaluated the plasma levels of ceruloplasmin and transferrin in Omani autistic children and compared the results with age matched control children (n = 20). Results: In accordance with the previous reports, significantly lower plasma levels of ceruloplasmin and of transferrin were observed in Omani autistic children as compared to normal children. Conclusion: This suggests that such changes may lead to abnormalities of iron and copper metabolism, resulting in the enhancement of the oxidative stress and contributing to the pathogenesis of ASD. However, the underlying mechanism is still unclear and further extensive studies are warranted.

Objective: To investigate different types of dates and medical properties of influencing blood clotting and wound healing in an animal model. Methods: Three different cultivars of dates (Ajwa, Khalas, and Fardh) were examined in-vivo, for blood clotting and wound healing using CD1 mice of both sexes. Study of toxicity to animals was performed accordingly prior to further investigations. The ethanolic extracts were given orally to animals as a constituent in their daily water. Blood samples were obtained from the mice inferior vena cava to carry out the prothrombin time (PT) assay using the manual method and confirmed using a semi-automated machine. The bleeding time (BT) assay was performed using the cutting technique. In the wound healing analysis, a small cut (5-10 mm) in the skin overlying the thigh was conducted in all mice under anesthesia. The diameter of the cut and healing status were measured on a daily basis throughout the time of the experiment using a roller. Results: Ajwa was able to elevate both PT and BT (P

Melanoma is a deadly form of malignancy and according to the World Health Organization 132,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed worldwide each year. Surgical resection and chemo/drug treatments opted for early and late stage of melanoma respectively, however detrimental post surgical and chemotherapy consequences are inevitable. Noticeably melanoma drug treatments are associated with liver injuries such as hepatitis and cholestasis which are very common. Alleviation of these clinical manifestations with better treatment options would enhance prognosis status and patients survival. Natural products which induce cytotoxicity with minimum side effects are of interest to achieve high therapeutic efficiency. In this study we investigated anti-melanoma and hepatoprotective activities of frankincense essential oil (FEO) in both in vitro and in vivo models. Pretreatment with FEO induce a significant (p < 0.05) dose-dependent reduction in the cell viability of mouse (B16-F10) and human melanoma (FM94) but not in the normal human epithelial melanocytes (HNEM). Immunoblot analysis showed that FEO induces down regulation of Bcl-2 and up regulation of BAX in B16-F10 cells whereas in FM94 cells FEO induced dose-dependent cleavage of caspase 3, caspase 9 and PARP. Furthermore, FEO (10 μg/ml) treatment down regulated MCL1 in a time-dependent manner in FM94 cells. In vivo toxicity analysis reveals that weekly single dose of FEO (1200 mg/kg body weight) did not elicit detrimental effect on body weight during four weeks of experimental period. Histology of tissue sections also indicated that there were no observable histopathologic differences in the brain, heart, liver, and kidney compare to control groups. FEO (300 and 600 mg/kg body weight) treatments significantly reduced the tumor burden in C57BL/6 mice melanoma model. Acetaminophen (750 mg/kg body weight) was used to induce hepatic injury in Swiss albino mice. Pre treatment with FEO (250 and 500 mg/kg body weight) for seven days retained hematology (complete blood count), biochemical parameters (AST, ALT, ALK, total bilirubin, total protein, glucose, albumin/globulin ratio, cholesterol and triglyceride), and the level of phase I and II drug metabolizing enzymes (cytochrome P450, cytochromeb5, glutathione-S-transferase) which were obstructed by the administration of acetaminophen. Further liver histology showed that FEO treatments reversed the damages (central vein dilation, hemorrhage, and nuclei condensation) caused by acetaminophen. In conclusion, FEO elicited marked anti-melanoma in both in vitro and in vivo with a significant heptoprotection.