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Capparis spinose L. also known as Caper is of great significance as a traditional medicinal food plant. The present work was targeted on the determination of chemical composition, pharmacological properties, and in-vitro toxicity of methanol and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of different parts of C. spinosa. Chemical composition was established by determining total bioactive contents and via UHPLC-MS secondary metabolites profiling. For determination of biological activities, antioxidant capacity was determined through DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, phosphomolybdenum, and metal chelating assays while enzyme inhibition against cholinesterase, tyrosinase, α-amylase and α-glucosidase were also tested. All the extracts were also tested for toxicity against two breast cell lines. The methanolic extracts were found to contain highest total phenolic and flavonoids which is correlated with their significant radical scavenging, cholinesterase, tyrosinase and glucosidase inhibition potential. Whereas DCM extracts showed significant activity for reducing power, phosphomolybdenum, metal chelation, tyrosinase, and α-amylase inhibition activities. The secondary metabolites profiling of both methanolic extracts exposed the presence of 21 different secondary metabolites belonging to glucosinolate, alkaloid, flavonoid, phenol, triterpene, and alkaloid derivatives. The present results tend to validate folklore uses of C. spinose and indicate this plant to be used as a potent source of designing novel bioactive compounds.

Calligonum polygonoides L. also known as famine food plant, is normally consumed in times of food scarcity in India and Pakistan and also used traditionally in the management of common diseases. The present design aims to provide an insight into the medicinal potential of four solvent extracts of C. polygonoides via an assessment of its phytochemical profile, antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potential. Phytochemical composition was estimated by deducing total bioactive constituents, UHPLC-MS secondary metabolites profile, and HPLC phenolic quantification. Antioxidant potential was determined via six methods (radical scavenging (DPPH and ABTS), reducing power (FRAP and CUPRAC), phosphomolybdenum total antioxidant capacity and metal chelation activity). Enzyme inhibitory potential was assessed against clinical enzymes (acetylcholinesterase -AChE, butyrylcholinesterase -BChE, tyrosinase, and α-amylase). The highest amounts of phenolic contents were found in chloroform extract (76.59 mg GAE/g extract) which may be attributed to its higher radical scavenging, reducing power and tyrosinase inhibition potential. The n-butanol extract containing the maximum amount of flavonoids (55.84 mg RE/g extract) exhibited highest metal chelating capacity. Similarly, the n-hexane extract was found to be most active against AChE (4.65 mg GALAE/g extract), BChE (6.59 mg GALAE/g extract), and α-amylase (0.70 mmol ACAE/g extract) enzymes. Secondary metabolite assessment of the crude methanol extract as determined by UHPLC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 24 (negative ionization mode) and 15 (positive ionization mode) secondary metabolites, with most of them belonging to phenolic, flavonoids, terpene, and alkaloid groups. Moreover, gallic acid and naringenin were the main phenolics quantified by HPLC-PDA analysis in all the tested extracts (except n-butanol extract). PCA statistical analysis was also conducted to establish any possible relationship amongst bioactive contents and biological activities. Overall, the C. polygonoides extracts could be further considered to isolate bioactive enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant natural phytocompounds.

Neural stem cells (NSC) are multipotent precursor cells in the neurogenic regions of the brain which respond to trophic factors to achieve functional recovery from neurodegenerative diseases. Edible bird's nest (EBN) is a salivary product of Aerodramus swiftlets and may contain potent neurotrophic compounds. Crude and water extracts of EBN were shown to have neurotrophic properties by promoting proliferation and migration of the NSC model, embryonic mouse neuroectodermal cells (NE-4C). Neuronal differentiation of retinoic acid-primed NE-4C was also increased after being treated with EBN extracts. Using de novo peptide sequencing with tandem mass spectrometry, a total of 29 proteins were identified from EBN extracts. It is suggested that the repulsive guidance molecule domain family member B, which has been shown to promote neurite extension and axonal growth, as well as proteins involved in the process of cell proliferation and migration such as protein lin-9 and hyaluronan mediated motility receptor might be involved in the neurotrophic effects of EBN extracts. Other proteins found in EBN extracts were known to have potential roles in immunity, extracellular matrix formation, cell survival and apoptosis, antioxidation, and common cellular processes, which may be implicated in other EBN studies. Seven hypothetical proteins suggested using the PEAKS Studio 7.0 software did not have a match in the Swiss-Prot database, which may need to be further characterized in the future. In conclusion, this study described the neurotrophic properties of EBN extracts and supports the use of EBN as a potential functional food against neurodegenerative diseases.