Mahmoud A. Al-Qudah

This study reports, for the first time, the phytochemical characterization and biological evaluation of the essential oils (EOs) and solvent extracts of Alkanna strigosa collected from Jordan. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis of the fresh and air‐dried plant's EOs led to the identification of 38 and 32 constituents, representing 98.13% and 97.45% of the total compositions, respectively. Oxygenated sesquiterpenes were the predominant class in both oils (34.25% and 60.66%). The EOs exhibited strong antioxidant activity, with low IC ₅₀ values in DPPH (5.79 and 10.0 µg/mL) and ABTS (1.18 and 1.15 µg/mL) assays for FEO and DEO, respectively. Soxhlet extraction using solvents of increasing polarity afforded ethyl acetate (ASE), acetone (ASA), and methanol (ASM) extracts. LC–MS/MS profiling revealed a high abundance of phenolic compounds and flavone glycosides, particularly in the ASM extract, which showed notable antioxidant activity. All extracts exhibited weak acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effects and lacked significant antibacterial activity against selected Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria. Furthermore, no relevant cytotoxic effects were observed against cancerous or normal cell lines. These findings highlight A. strigosa as a promising natural source of antioxidant and neuroprotective compounds.

Phytochemical analysis of the aqueous methanol fraction obtained from the seeds of Ammodaucus leucotrichus growing wild in Algeria afforded seven new compounds including a degraded monoterpene (1), five sesquiterpene lactones (2, 5, 7, 8 and 13) and one acylated flavonoid glycoside (15) in addition to nine known compounds (3, 4, 6, 9-12, 14 and 16). The structures of all isolated compounds were established through extensive spectroscopic analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis was further carried out for compound (7). Furthermore, complete 1D and 2D-NMR data together with single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis are reported for the known compound (3) for the first time, extending its earlier report of only ¹H NMR data. The new compounds were evaluated for their antioxidant activity using DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging assays. Only compound (15) exhibited moderate scavenging activity on both assays. In-silico molecular docking studies were conducted on cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2; PDB ID: 3LN1) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR; PDB ID: 2J6M) to further assess the bioactivity of compounds (1-13). For COX-2, the highest predicted binding affinities were observed in the order 6 > 2 > 1, whereas for EGFR, the binding affinities followed the order of 4 > 8 > 9,13. These results suggest that selected compounds from A. leucotrichus may represent promising scaffolds for further investigation as anti-inflammatory and antitumor agents.

The current study reports a comprehensive phytochemical analysis and bioactivity evaluation of Asteriscus pygmaeus growing wild in Jordan. Hydro‐distilled essential oils extracted from fresh and air‐dried plant material were subjected to GC/MS analysis and tested for antioxidant activities using DPPH, ABTS ^•+ , and FIC methods. Both oils revealed a distinctive chemical profile dominated by oxygenated sesquiterpenes (64.21% and 80.34%, respectively). Air‐dried hydro‐distilled essential oil (D‐HDEO) exhibited stronger DPPH and ABTS ^•+ scavenging power when compared to fresh one (F‐HDEO). This might be attributed to the abundant oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The plant material was subjected to Soxhlet extraction in solvents of different polarities (EtOAc, acetone, and MeOH), and then the obtained extracts were assayed for their TPC, TFC, antioxidant, antiproliferative, acetylcholine inhibition, and antibacterial activities, and their composition was qualitatively determined by LC–MS/MS. The acetone extract exhibited the highest TPC, TFC contents and revealed the strongest antioxidant and AChE inhibitory activities. The EtOAc extract demonstrated the most potent cytotoxic agent, it selectively inhibited the proliferation of MDA‐MB‐231 breast cancer cell lines (IC ₅₀ 11.6 ± 1.1 µg/mL) with selectivity index 2.4–21 compared to fibroblast and normal vero cell lines (IC ₅₀ 49.6 ± 2.3 and 75.1 ± 2.8 µg/mL, respectively).

Investigation of the chemical constituents of Cleome amblyocarpa growing wild in Jordan resulted in the isolation and structural elucidation of two new dammarane triterpenes along with 9 other known compounds.

Acteoside (ACT) isolated from A. orientalis L. was investigated as a corrosion inhibitor of copper in 1.0 M HNO ₃ acid solutions using conventional weight loss, electrochemical polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies.

The inhibitory effect of A. orientalis L. extract (AO) on aluminum corrosion in a 1.0 M HCl solution was investigated utilizing weight loss, electrochemical polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that AO is a potent inhibitor in an acidic environment, and that the inhibition potency increases with concentration. Temperature investigations showed that, in an acidic medium, the efficiency decreased, increased, and then decreased as the temperature rose. Adsorption isotherms from Freundlich, Temkin, El Awady, and Redlich–Peterson (R-P) approximated the inhibitor’s adsorption properties. For the inhibitory behavior, a physical and chemical adsorption mechanism is proposed. The adsorption process’s thermodynamic parameters (Ea, ΔH*, and ΔS*) were determined and explained. The inhibitor, AO, was identified as a mixed-type (anodic and cathodic) inhibitor based on polarization studies. According to the SEM findings, the inhibitor partially covers the metal surface, providing it with a respectable level of protection. The weight loss, electrochemical polarization, EIS, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and quantum chemical calculations show a strong agreement, indicating that the AO extract is a highly effective inhibitor of aluminum in an acidic solution.

In line with the importance of Prasium majus L. (Lamiaciatae) in traditional medicine as a calming and sedative remedy, the present study was designed to reveal its chemical constituents and bioactivity potentials. Thus, after extraction and fractionation of the plant material, the obtained butanol fraction (BPm) was subjected to conventional chromatographic separation of its constituents in addition to LC-MS/MS evaluation versus some authentic standards. The study resulted in the isolation and characterisation of 8 compounds, including one new chrysoeriol derivative, majusiode (1). Structural elucidation of all isolated compounds was based on detailed investigation of their spectral data (NMR (1 & 2D), ESI-MS, IR and UV-Vis). HPLC-MS/MS analysis versus authentic samples lead to the detection of 31 constituents, including all 8 isolated compounds. The new compound (1) showed moderate AChE inhibition power (IC₅₀: 163.3 ± 3.4 µg/mL) as compared to the positive control galanthamine (91.4 ± 5.2 µg/mL) and moderate DPPH^•/ABTS^•+ scavenging power.

The current study was designed to uncover the chemistry and bioactivity potentials of Bupleurum lancifolium growing wild in Jordan. In this context, the fresh aerial parts obtained from the plant material were subjected to hydrodistillation followed by GC/MS analysis. The main components of the HDEO were γ-patchoulene (23.79%), β-dihydro agarofuran (23.50%), α-guaiene (14.11%), and valencene (13.28%). Moreover, the crude thanolic extract was partitioned to afford two main major fractions, the aqueous methanol (BLM) and butanol (BLB). Phytochemical investigation of both fractions, using conventional chromatographic techniques followed by careful inspection of the spectral data for the isolated compounds (NMR, IR, and UV-Vis), resulted in the characterization of five known compounds, including α-spinasteryl (M1), ethyl arachidate (M2), ethyl myristate (M3), quercetin-3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-4”)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (B1), and isorhamnetin-3-O-β-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-4”)-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl (B2). The TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activity testing of both fractions and HDEO revealed an interesting ABTS scavenging potential of the BLB fraction compared to the employed positive controls, which is in total agreement with its high TP and TF contents. Cytotoxic evaluation tests revealed that BLM had interesting cytotoxic effects on the normal breast cell line MDA-MB-231 (ATCC–HTB-26) and the normal dermal fibroblast (ATCC^® PCS-201-012) and normal African green monkey kidney Vero (ATCC-CCL-81) cell lines. Despite both the BLB and BLM fractions showing interesting AChE inhibition activities (IC₅₀ = 217.9 ± 5.3 µg/mL and 139.1 ± 5.6 µg/mL, respectively), the HDEO revealed an interestingly high AChE inhibition power (43.8 ± 2.7 µg/mL) that far exceeds the one observed for galanthamine (91.4 ± 5.2 µg/mL). The HDEO, BLM, and BLB exhbitied no interesting antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa.