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The water-soluble acidic polysaccharide from Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forss.) den Hartog was successfully extracted, fractionated and purified. The phytochemical profile of the two water-soluble fractions (F1 and F2), were detected using different analytic techniques. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 22 saccharide. Acidic polysaccharide, galacturonic and glucuronic acid were the most abundant. Moreover, paper chromatography and electrophoresis also performed as a preliminary chemical characterization of the polymer. The hepatoprotective activity of the fractions against thioacetamide (TAA) induced liver failure; antioxidant potential and preliminary immunomodulatory activity were assigned in-vivo. The results revealed a potent competence to improve the liver function profile (ALT, AST, total bilirubin, total glyceride, etc.) and a remarkable improvement in liver architecture in comparison to the challenged intoxicated groups. Moreover, they showed high anti-oxidative properties and a promising immunomodulatory influence via Il6. These findings provide new insight into the possible role of polysaccharide purified two fractions in the treatment of acute liver injury.

Many plant species are reported in Egyptian traditional medicine for the treatment of different types of skin infections. The present study was designed to screen the methanolic extracts of twenty five Egyptian plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of skin infections for their antibacterial activities against Propionibacterium acnes, and to isolate the bioactive compound(s) from the most active extract. The results showed that Myrtus communis, Curcuma longa and Myristica fragrans exhibited inhibition on P. acnes growth in which M. communis demonstrated the highest antibacterial effect with an MIC of 7.8 μg/ml. A phytochemical analysis of the extract of M. communis leads to the isolation of eight compounds viz., 5-acetoxy-4-hydroxy-4-isobutyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexan-1,3-dione (1), β-sitosterol (2), isomyrtucommulone-B (3), endoperoxide-G-3-hormone (4), gallic acid (5), myricetin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside (6), myricetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside (7), and myricetin-3-O-β-D-galactoside-6″-O-gallate (8). Compounds 1 and 3 showed strong inhibition against P. acnes with MIC values of 6.3 and 0.8 μg/ml, respectively. This is the first report on the isolation of compound 3 from M. communis and the validation in the use of Egyptian herbal medicines against P. acnes., The authors are thankful to Mr. James Swezey, from Agricultural Research Service (NRRL, Peoria, IL, USA) for the providing of the bacterial strain, P. acnes. NRRL (B-4224). Thanks to Prof. I. Green, SU, South Africa, for his writing assistance.

Background and objective The Red Sea seagrass Halophila stipulacea (Forsskal) Ascherson and Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forsskal) den Hartog were poorly investigated either for their biological activities or for chemical constituents. This study aims to investigate the phytochemical constituent of both grass, along with studying the different biological activities (osteoclastogenesis, antioxidant activity, and anticancer activity) of the crude extract as well as purified compounds. Materials and methods The present study used three different in-vitro bioassay methods to screen the fractions and/or isolated compounds of both seagrass, to assess their possible biological activity. Osteoclastogenesis assay, antioxidant activity, and anticancer activity were carried out using different assays of the different anticancer mechanism of action. Results and conclusion Ten secondary metabolites were isolated and identified for the first time from Red Sea seagrass H. stipulacea (Forsskal) Ascherson: (1) p-hydroxybenzoic acid, (2) bis(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate, (3) benzoic acid, (4) p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, (5) thymidine, (6) stigmasterol, (7) oleic acid, (8) linoleic acid, (9) linoleic methyl ester, and (10) apigenin. Furthermore, a new dihydrochalcone and a known flavonoid were isolated and identified from Red Sea seagrass T. ciliatum (Forsskal) den Hartog: (11) 2,4′ dihydroxy-4-methoxy-6-glucosyl dihydrochalcone (Thalassodendron B) and (12) rutin. Fractions of both seagrass showed promising biological activities.

One new dihydrochalcone diglycoside has been isolated from the EtOAc fraction of the Egyptian seagrass Thalassodendrin ciliatum (Forsk.) den Hartog, and was identified as 6′-O-rhamnosyl-(1? → 6″)-glucopyranosyl asebogenin for which a trivial name Thalassodendrone was established. Furthermore, five known phenolics were isolated and identified as asebotin, quercetin 3,7-diglucoside, protocatechuic acid, ferulic acid and p-hydroxybenzoic acid. The structures of all the isolated compounds were established based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution-mass spectrometer. High-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectra (HR-ESI-MS) were obtained using a JEOL JMS-T100TD spectrometer (JEOL Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). The anti-influenza A virus activity of the isolated new compound and asebotin was evaluated, and the obtained results revealed that the inhibition dose concentration of asebotin was more than that of Thalassodendrone with IC 50 = 2.00 and 1.96 μg/mL, respectively, and with cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of 3.36 and 3.14 μg/mL, respectively., Natural Product Research, 28(6), pp.377-382; 2014

Marine algae-as inexpensive and renewable natural biomass-have attracted the attention of many investigators to be used to preconcentrate and biosorb many heavy metal ions. Impressed by this concept, the metal uptake capacity of Egyptian marine algae was examined using representatives of green and brown algae, namely, Ulva lactuca L. and Sargassum latifolium (Turner) C. Agardh, respectively. The biosorption efficiencies of Cu(2+) , Co(2+) , Ni(2+) , Cd(2+) , Hg(2+) , Ag(2+) , and Pb(2+) ions seem to depend on the type of the algae used as well as the conditions under which the uptake processes were conducted. It was demonstrated that a pH range of 7.5-8.8 was optimum for the removal of the tested metals. Similarly, the uptake process was markedly accelerated during the first 2 h using relatively low metal level and sufficient amounts of the dried powdered tested algae.

Bioassay-guided purification of an ethanolic extract of Cystoseira myrica against HEPG-2 (liver) and HCT116 (colon) human cancer cell lines led to the isolation of 3-keto-22-epi-28-nor-cathasterone, 1 and cholest-4-ene-3,6-dione, 2. This finding allowed us to report for the first time that a brassinosteroid-related metabolite occurs in seaweed. These compounds showed activity in the range of 12.38–1.16 μM with selective activity of compound 2 to liver cancer cell lines.

A local isolate of Aspergillus terreus was selected among different microorganisms as a new cyclosporin A (Cy A) producing culture. The formation of Cy A was investigated under different fermentation conditions (including selection of the cultivation medium, fermentation time course, inoculum nature, medium volume, agitation rate, pH value). Relatively high Cy A productivities were maintained when the fermentation process was carried out using a medium composed of (g/L): glucose, 50; bactopeptone, 10; KH(2)PO(4), 5; KCl, 2.5; pH 5.3, inoculated with 2% standard inoculum of 48 h age, shaken at 200 rpm for 10 days.

Five flavonoids (rutin, asebotin, 3-hydroxyasebotin, quercetin-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside, and a racemic mixture of catechin) and caffeic acid were isolated and identified for the first time from seagrass, Thalassodendron ciliatum, collected from the Hurghada region in Egypt. The crude extract and the isolated pure compounds were evaluated for their cytotoxic activities against HCT-116, HEPG, MCF-7, and HeLa human cancer cell lines, for their antiviral activity against Herpes Simplex and hepatitis A viruses, and for their antioxidant activity

The saccharification of crude bagasse (CB) with enzyme preparations of a potent local mutant Trichoderma viride (253-M16) was considerably improved by pretreating CB under a variety of conditions. Simple treatment of CB with 1% NaOH for 10 h at room temperature allowed the hydrolysis of about 12% of this bagasse after 6 days incubation. However, the saccharification yield was raised to about 54% when the alkali-treated bagasse was hydrolysed by 50% ammonium sulphate precipitated enzyme fraction. Further improvement (90% conversion estimate) was obtained using bagasse samples treated with sodium chlorite/NaOH and hydrolysed with 70% ammonium sulphate precipitated fraction. A similar high conversion yield was also recorded using H2SO4—sodium chlorite treated bagasse.