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Introduction: Thymoquinone (TQ) is a naturally derived bioactive compound with several therapeutic effects., Objective: The highly sensitive, rapid and green normal-phase (NP)/reversed-phase (RP) high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) densitometry technique was developed for the determination of TQ in various plant extracts of different geographical regions, commercial capsules, creams and essential oils., Methodology: The NP densitometry estimation of TQ was performed using a cyclohexane-ethyl acetate (90:10, v/v) green solvent system, while, the RP-densitometry estimation of TQ was performed using an ethanol-water (80:20, v/v) green solvent system. The estimation of TQ was conducted at 259 nm., Results: The NP and RP densitometry techniques were observed linear in the range of 25-1000 and 50-600 ng/band, respectively. All validation parameters such as accuracy, precision, robustness and sensitivity of NP/RP densitometry were observed within the limit of regulatory requirements and hence found to be suitable for the determination of TQ. The TQ contents were found to be highest in the Saudi Arabian extract followed by the Syrian extract, Indian extract, commercial capsules, commercial creams, Jordanian extract, Egyptian extract, Palestinian extract and commercial essential oils using NP densitometry. The TQ contents were found in same order using RP densitometry, but they were much lower than those recorded using NP densitometry. The Analytical GREEnness (AGREE) scores of NP and RP densitometry were found to be 0.82 and 0.84, respectively, suggesting an excellent greenness profile., Conclusions: Based on these results, NP/RP densitometry was found to be suitable for the pharmaceutical assay of TQ., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

The herbal plant Petroselinum crispum ( P. crispum ) (Mill) is commonly available around the world. In this study, the leaves of the herbal plant P. crispum were collected from the central region of Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia, to explore their in vitro pharmacological activity. Essential oil from the leaves of P. crispum was isolated using the hydrodistillation method. The composition of P. crispum essential oil (PCEO) was determined using Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 67 components were identified, representing approximately 96.02% of the total volatile composition. Myristicin was identified as the principal constituent (41.45%). The in vitro biological activity was assessed to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory potential of PCEO. PCEO showed the highest antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus among all the evaluated microbial species. In vitro anti-inflammatory evaluation using albumin and trypsin assays showed the excellent anti-inflammatory potential of PCEO compared to the standard drugs. An in silico study of the primary PCEO compound was conducted using online tools such as PASS, Swiss ADME, and Molecular docking. In silico PASS prediction results supported our in vitro findings. Swiss ADME revealed the drug likeness and safety properties of the major metabolites present in PCEO. Molecular docking results were obtained by studying the interaction of Myristicin with an antifungal (PDB: 1IYL and 3LD6), antibacterial (PDB: 1AJ6 and 1JIJ), antioxidant (PDB: 3NM8 and 1HD2), and anti-inflammatory (3N8Y and 3LN1) receptors supported the in vitro results. Therefore, PCEO or Myristicin might be valuable for developing anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial drugs.

Photooxygenation of anhydrodeoxydihydroartemisinin (4) followed by chromatographic separation of the reaction mixture yielded the new compounds alpha- (5) and beta-hydroperoxydeoxyartemisitene (8) and the formate ester 7, together with two previously reported compounds, 6 and 9. Reduction of 5 using polymer-bound triphenylphosphine afforded the new compound dihydrodeoxyartemisitene (10). Treatment of 10 with a catalytic amount of BF(3)-OEt(2) yielded the C(2)-symmetrical dimer bis(dihydrodeoxyartemisitene) ether (11) and two new compounds, dihydrodeoxyartemisitene methyl ether (12) and the dimer 13, as minor products. Dehydroacetoxylation of 5 using acetic anhydride in pyridine afforded deoxyartemisitene (14). The identities of the new compounds (5, 7, 8, 10-14) were deduced from their spectral data and by chemical derivatization. The stereochemistry of dimer 11 was defined on the basis of X-ray crystallographic analysis. All compounds were evaluated in vitro in the National Cancer Institute drug-screening program consisting of 60 human cancer cell lines derived from nine different tissues. Of the compounds tested, deoxyartemisitene (14) demonstrated significant cytotoxicity against a number of human cancer cell lines.