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Alkaloids are a group of secondary metabolites that generate great interest since ancient times. Numerous Solanaceae plants are rich sources of tropane alkaloids as hyoscyamine and scopolamine which are obtained mainly from Hyoscyamus niger, Datura stramonium, Atropa belladonna, Mandragora officinarum . In the present study it was developed an HPLC-DAD using an XBridge Phenyl column for the quantification of scopolamine and hyoscyamine, molecules used in pharmaceutical industry to treat stomach or intestinal disorders. A. belladonna presented hyoscyamine and scopolamine, the first one ranged from 1466 to 5117 mg/Kg DW while the second one ranged from 140 to 1743 mg/Kg DW. In D. stramonium , hyoscyamine was not found while scopolamine ranged from 430 to 8980 mg/Kg DW. On the contrary H. niger and M. officinarum did not contain any trace of these alkaloids. This is the first work in which different parts of four Solanaceae were analysed for their hyoscyamine and scopolamine content.

Recently, water scarcity has been a substantial problem facing agriculture in Egypt, with a great impact on food security and hence makes it a challenge to satisfy food demand. An aquaponic system with minimum water needs is considered a substitute technique to meet the demand of food shortages. Celery ( Apium graveolens ) is a widely cultivated herb belonging to the family Apiaceae and widely consumed as a popular ingredient in a wide range of dishes and food recipes. A total of 13 phenolic metabolites were detected and quantified using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Chlorogenic acid was detected as the most abundant phenolic compound accounting for 3471.58 mg kg -1 . Moreover, 65 volatile compounds belonging to 12 different classes were detected using GS-MS with an abundance of aromatic hydrocarbons at ca .68.15%. and the main constituents were 6-phenyltridecane, 6-phenyldodecane, and 5-phenylundecane at ca .6.78%, 6.62%, and 6.13% respectively. It is the first time to report metabolic profile in celery grown in an aquaponic system.

The main cause of cancer death among women is breast cancer. The most common type of breast cancer is the estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Discovery of estrogen receptor provided a highly effective target for treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer. Selective estrogen receptor inhibitors are useful for halting the growth of breast cancer cells and inducing apoptosis. Tamoxifen, a popular selective estrogen receptor modulator, can treat breast cancer but also has unfavourable side effects due to its estrogenic activity in other tissues. Many herbal remedies and bioactive natural compounds, such as genistein, resveratrol, ursolic acid, betulinic acid, epigallocatechin-3-gallate, prenylated isoflavonoids, zearalenol, coumestrol, pelargonidin, delphinidin, and biochanin A, have the ability to specifically modulate the estrogen receptor alpha. Moreover, several of these compounds speed up cell death by supressing estrogen receptor gene expression. This opens wide avenue to introduce number of natural medicines with a revolutionary therapeutic impact and few side effects.

Dolomiaea costus (Falc.) Kasana & A.K. Pandey Family Asteraceae, formerly known as Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipsch contains a rich treasury of diverse bioactive compounds such as monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, triterpenes, sterols, cardenolides, flavonoids, coumarins, lignans, phenylpropanoids and alkaloids. The sesquiterpene lactones, costunolide and dehydrocostuslactone in D. costus , possess unique promising in vitro and in vivo biological activities for the prevention and cure of diverse ailments like Parkinson's disease, oxidative stress, hyperpigmentation, ulcerative colitis, breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, colon cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, leukemia, stomach cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, allergy, type 2 diabetes, hepatotoxicity, bronchitis, pulmonary fibrosis, thrombosis and various microbial infections. Costunolide and dehydrocostuslactone are potential drug candidates that could lead to the development of new medications for a variety of difficult-to-treat diseases.

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics poses a high level of danger worldwide. Bacterial resistance mechanisms are spreading globally, impeding our ability to treat common infectious diseases. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics accelerate microbial resistance to antibiotics. Despite the exerted efforts, none of the newly developed antibiotics are expected to be effective against the dangerous forms of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Since many plants have been shown to contain powerful antimicrobial compounds that can act synergistically or alternatively to antibiotics, the demand for herbal medicines has recently increased to co-treat microbes that are resistant to antibiotics. Maximum benefit can be achieved when the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of natural products match the antibiotic. This review article refers to nine highly effective and key herbs to use alongside antibiotics to overcome crises of antibiotic resistance. Their unique molecular mechanisms of action have been highlighted.

Breast cancer is the most devastating disease for women. There is a great demand for new sources to treat this disease. Medicinal plants are an indispensable source of bioactive compounds with wide range of pharmacological activities. In-vitro cytotoxic activity of Otostegia fruticosa methanolic extract against human breast cancer was studied using MCF-7 cell line. The extract showed mildly potent activity (IC 50 = 51 ± 9.836 µg/mL) in comparison to the standard anticancer doxorubicin (IC 50 = 7.467 ± 1.05 µg/mL). Potential compounds responsible for activity have been identified using Molecular Operating Environment (MOE) module on the major compounds detected by HPLC-MS/MS technique against estrogen alpha receptor (ERα+: PDB ID 2JF9). 3,5-di- O -dicaffeoylquinic acid, hyperoside and rutin showed similar binding and antagonistic interaction with the estrogen alpha receptor as tamoxifen in several poses. The retrieved results confirm that we can add this plant to a powerful arsenal that combats this insidious disease.

The ink that cephalopods secrete to hide and frighten the enemies contains a treasury rich in bioactive diverse compounds like DOPA, melanin, melanin synthase, tyrosinase, angiotensin converting enzyme, catecholamines, oligopeptides, polyphenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, fatty acids and minerals. These groups of the aforementioned compounds have promising unique in-vitro and in-vivo biological activities like antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory, vasopressin, anti-Parkinson, anti-cancer, anti-coagulant, antimicrobial, anti-retroviral, anti-ulcerogenic and immune boosting activities. Cephalopods ink can be offered in its raw state or after separation and purification of its chemical constituents for use as natural medicine to treat many diverse diseases.

Ethnobotanical investigation was carried out using questionnaires among majority of El Kala (Algeria) inhabitants. The investigation found that lentisk ( Pistacia lentiscus L.) is widely used in traditional therapy, especially in gastrointestinal and dermatological problems. Bioactive phytochemicals were determined by LC-MS/MS, and 14, 13, and 12 compounds were identified in leaves, stems and seeds, respectively. Flavonoids and phenolic acids were the most abundant compounds. Moreover, total phenols (306.5 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (95.25 mg RE/g), and condensed tannins (170.75 mg CE/g) contents were determined in leaves. Also, essential oil composition was investigated using GC/MS and 27 aroma compounds were identified. Monoterpene and sesquiterpene hydrocarbons were the most abundant. Besides, antioxidant activity was performed by DPPH, β-carotene bleaching, and ferrous ions chelating tests; and leaves extracts were more effective (IC 50 of 2.75, 3.45, 13.5 µg/ml), than essential oils (IC 50 of 10.5, 70.5, 157.25 µg/ml), and standards (trolox, 4.75; BHT, 5.25 µg/ml), respectively.

Fifteen compounds belong to phenolic acids, derivatives of phenolic acids, iridoids, xanthones and flavonoids were characterized in the methanolic extract of Otostegia fruticosa leaves using HPLC-MS/MS. Extract has been also investigated for its MAO-B inhibitory activity, antioxidant activity, total phenolic and total flavonoid content. The extract exhibited interesting MAO-B inhibitory activity (IC50; 2.24 ± 0.08) compared to the reference compound selegiline (0.55 ± 0.02 µg/mL). It also showed a potent antioxidant activity proven in both DPPH and ORAC assay methods. The extract showed an IC50 of 3.64 ± 1.22 µg/mL in the DPPH test which was significantly lower than that of the standard ascorbic acid which attained an IC50 of 18.3 ± 1.41 µg/mL. Moreover, in the oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay (ORAC) the extract showed a decline in the IC50 to 3.48 ± 1.16 µg/mL as compared to the standard Trolox which exhibited an IC50 of 27.0 ± 13.41.

Withania somnifera , Angelica sinensis, Glycyrrhiza glabra , and Simmondsia chinensis were acquired from the Egyptian market, profiled for their chemical constituents, screened for the in-vitro MAO-B inhibitory activity and evaluated for the total phenolic content. Thirty compounds were characterized in the selected herbs using HPLC-MS/MS. In-vitro MAO-B inhibitory activity and total phenolic content of the acquired herbs were compared with those of a prepared herbal formula consisting of a mixture of equal amounts of the four mentioned herbs. The most potent MAO-B inhibitory activity was exerted by the methanol extract of the prepared formula (IC 50 of 712.19 ± 13.90 ng/mL) compared to selegiline (IC 50 of 581.69 ± 11.35 ng/mL). The highest value of the total phenolic content was shown by Angelica sinensis methanolic extract (76.15 ± 0.1 mg/g) followed by Glycyrrhiza glabra methanolic extract (65.74 ± 0.1 mg/g), then the mixture's methanolic extract of the four herbs (37.04 ± 0.1 mg/g).

Pulicaria undulata is used as a traditional herbal remedy in Egypt. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for analysis of essential oil of this plant growing wild in Egypt and 64 compounds were identified. The oil was rich in oxygenated monoterpenes (64.0%) and aromatic derivatives (18.8%). The major components were carvacrol (46.5%), xanthoxylin (18.1%) and carvotanacetone (8.7%). The oil of the Egyptian plant showed significant differences from the oil results reported on this species derived from different accessions. Antioxidant activity was performed by FRAP, DPPH and ABTS assays, and the oil demonstrated a powerful antioxidant properties. Furthermore, cytotoxicity was assessed using MTT assay against three cell lines (A375, T98G, HCT116) and the oil showed moderate results with IC 50 of 18.53, 40.64 and 22.23 μg/ml; respectively. The oil showed a good anti-acetylcholinesterase activity (IC 50  = 139.2 μg/ml) using Ellman method. In conclusion, the studied oil exhibited a peculiar fingerprint and promising biological activities.

The Satureja L. genus belongs to the Lamiaceae family and comprises about 30 species commonly known as savory. Savory is represented by aromatic plants which are used as spice, tea and food additive. In this study, we explored the differences in essential oil composition and antioxidant activity between two subspecies occurring in Italy, namely S. montana subsp. variegata and subsp. montana . Essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the major volatile constituents were carvacrol (22.5%), p -cymene (17.6%), thymol (17,4%) in the subsp. variegata , and carvacrol (61.9%), p -cymene (9,9%) and γ-terpinene (8.2%) in the subsp. montana. The main chemical difference was the carvacrol:thymol ratio, with the latter much higher in the subsp. montana (above 300) compared with the subsp. variegata . The antioxidant activity was determined by using DPPH, ABTS and FRAP and essential oils displayed noteworthy radical scavenging effects against the ABTS radical (IC 50 of 30.02-34.5 µg/ml).

Schizogyne sericea, well-known as 'salado', is a halophytic shrub widespread on coastal rocks of Tenerife (Canary Islands). This plant is used traditionally as analgesic, astringent, anti-inflammatory and vulnerary agent. In the present work, we have analysed the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of S. sericea for the content of phenolic acids by HPLC-DAD. The dynamic solid-liquid Naviglio® extractor was used to extract the flowering aerial parts. Aqueous extracts showed higher levels of phenolics than ethanolic extracts. S. sericea extracts were rich in chlorogenic and isochlorogenic acids. The Naviglio® extracts obtained were assayed for in vitro biological activities, namely antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxicity on tumour cells by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, agar disc-diffusion and MTT methods, respectively. Results showed that aqueous extracts, being richer in phenolic acids, are endowed with relevant radical scavenging activity (TEAC values in the range 208-960 μmol TE/g) while ethanolic extracts exhibited noteworthy antiproliferative effects on tumour cells.

Solid-phase microextraction technique coupled with gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to investigate the inter- and intra-population chemical polymorphism in volatile constituents of three populations of Thymus pannonicus growing in Slovakia. To have an idea on what really the plant emits under different environmental and physiological conditions, a total of 86 individuals were separately analysed using low extraction temperatures (30°C). Data were analysed using a chemometric approach such as the principal component analysis which revealed a significant intra-population variability with the existence of up to four chemotypes: the most abundant is the p-cymene/γ-terpinene chemotype, followed by the geraniol and linalool chemotypes, and, only in one population, by the γ-muurolene/(E)-caryophyllene chemotype. This differentiation of individual plants inside the populations allows better adaptation to ecological conditions of localities and is probably connected with intrinsic genetic diversity of the species.