Rasha Adel

The authors wish to emphasize that the experiments were simultaneously conducted with several plant species, and identical control groups were utilized for both articles (Phytomedicine (2017), doi:10

Tanacetum sinaicum (Asteraceae) is a rare herb growing wild in Southern Sinai mountains in Egypt. The aim of this work was to develop a comparative study between the chemical compositions of the wild plant and the micropropagated one, using HPLC− ESI− MS/MS technique. HPLC- ESI-MS/MS analysis resulted in the identification of 56 compounds including flavonoids, organic acids and their glycosides. Totally, 52 compounds were tentatively identified from the methanolic extracts of wild plant, 10 of them could also be detected in the methanolic extract of the micropropagated plant, in addition to 4 compounds that were detected only in the micropropagated plant. Methanolic extracts of the wild and micropropagated plants showed moderate cytotoxic activity against Hep-G2, HCT-116 and A-549 cell lines using MTT cell viability assay. The antioxidant activity using the DPPH free radical assay was investigated and the results indicated that the wild plant methanolic extract has better antioxidant activity compared to the in vitro plant extract. In addition, the insecticidal activity was measured using the immersion method and the methanolic extract of the micropropagated plant showed a higher mortality percentage than wild plant extract on culex pipiens. Also, results indicate that wild plant extract has mild antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis and showed no activity on both fungi and Gram negative bacteria. while in vitro plant extract showed some activity against Gram positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and the Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli.

Trichinellosis is a re-emerging zoonotic disease that has become a public health concern since its reported human outbreaks in many countries. The traditional therapy has many adverse effects in addition to the developing resistance. So, this necessitates finding effective natural alternatives. The current study targeted to assess the potential therapeutic effects of Zingiber officinale and Cinnamomum zeylanicum in comparison to albendazole, a conventional therapy for treatment of trichinosis. Sixty mice were classified into five groups (12 mice each), non-infected control, infected control, combined albendazole and prednisolone, Zingiber officinale, and Cinnamomum zeylanicum treated groups. Mice sacrifice was performed on the 7th and 35th days post infection for intestinal and muscular phases respectively. Efficiency of the used preparations was assessed by parasitological, histopathological, immunohistochemical, biochemical studies in addition to ultrastructural evaluation using transmission electron microscopy. A significant reduction in the mean number of T. spiralis adult worms and larvae was observed in Zingiber officinale and Cinnamomum zeylanicum treated groups, (64.5%, 50.8%) and (68%, 54.6%) respectively. Also, both extracts showed moderate cytoplasmic reactivity for TGF-β1, (69.3% & 67.8%) respectively. The highest reduction in serum TNF- α level was observed in Zingiber officinale treated group during the muscle phase (58.4%) while in the intestinal phase was 50%. The ultrastructural study revealed degenerative effects on both adults and larvae in addition to obvious improvement of the histopathological changes in the small intestine and muscles. We concluded that these herbal extracts especially Zingiber officinale can be considered a practical and successful alternative for the treatment of trichinellosis.

Turraea fischeri is an East African traditional herb, which is widely used in traditional medicine. In this study, we profiled the secondary metabolites in the methanol extract of T. fischeri bark using HPLC-PDA-ESI-MS/MS, and 20 compounds were tentatively identified. Several isomers of the flavonolignan cinchonain-I and bis-dihydroxyphenylpropanoid-substituted catechin hexosides dominated the extract. Robust in vitro and in vivo antioxidant properties were observed in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging assay (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Additionally, the extract exhibited promising hepatoprotective activities in D-galactosamine (D-GaIN) treated rats. A significant reduction in the elevated levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and malondialdehyde (MDA) and increase of glutathione (GSH) was observed in rats treated with the bark extract in addition to D-galactosamine when compared with rats treated with D-galactosamine alone. In conclusion, T. fischeri is apromising candidate for health-promoting and for pharmaceutical applications.