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The effects of water extracts of Chenopodium album leaves and roots on the growth of grass weed (Setaria viridis) and broad leaf weed (Corchorus olitorius) grown with beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in greenhouse pots were studied in the National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt. In this experiment fresh leaf and root extracts and their corresponding dry leaf and root extracts at different concentrations were used. There were significant inhibitions in the dry weights of S. viridis and C. olitorius by all extracts at the flowering stage of beans and at harvest. The inhibition effect of all C. album extracts on both weeds (dry weight/pot) depended on the extracted plant organ (leaf or root), its fresh or dry form as well as its concentrations. The inhibition caused by the leaf extract was much higher on weed growth than that of root extract. A higher concentration of fresh leaf extract (25%) had the highest significant inhibition effect. The results also indicated that C. olitorius was more sensitive to the extracts than S. viridis. On the other hand, the inhibition effect of the extracts on the growth of both weeds was accompanied by increased bean growth and yield/plant. The analysis of both leaf and root extracts of C. album revealed that the total content of polyphenols and flavonoids in the leaf extract was more than triple that of the root extract. The results suggested that the fresh leaf extract of C. album may be a possible tool for the development of weed control using natural herbicides.

Nanotechnology had placed an impact in improving the antiproliferative activity of crude leaf (CL) and flower (CF) extracts of Hamelia patens on the liver (HEPG2) and breast (MCF7) carcinoma cell lines, after their encapsulation onto zeolite (ZSM-5) nanopores, which acts as a drug delivery system (DDS). The cytotoxicity of the new formulas showed remarkable improvement in the activities on HEPG2. CL had low activity on HEPG2, at the tested concentrations, but the ZSM-5 loaded one (CLZ) showed enhanced action with IC50=42 µg/mL. Also, the cytotoxicity of CF improved after Zeolite incorporation, where the IC50 has been changed from 48 µg/mL for CF to 25 µg/mL for CFZ. Moreover, the polar fraction of leaves extracted by methanol (Me.L) showed improvement on the cytotoxicity on MCF7 for zeolite loaded formula (Me.Z) (IC50 had changed from 65 to 44.4 µg/mL). Quantitative estimations for polyphenolic contents as well as the phenolic profiles for CF and CL extracts were inspected using HPLC-DAD to explore the bioactive phytochemical compounds. Acute toxicity test showed that LD50 was 1500 and 2333 mg/kg b.wt. for CL and CF, respectively. The cytogenetic study was also done to detect the chromosome aberrations in somatic and germ cells after CL and CF administration to mice. DPPH antioxidant capacity assay revealed that CL has high redox-active effect than CF. This study is a contribution to the development of a creative new DDS that help in cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essential oil of the Solenstemma arghel (Dellile) Hayne leaves was investigated by GC and GC-MS. Twenty-six constituents representing 71% of the Egyptian arghel essential oil were identified. The major components of Egyptian arghel essential oil are linalool (39.2%), a-terpineol (6.3%), geraniol (5.4%), elemol (1.8%), β-eudesmol acetate (1.7%) and β-cadinene (1.7%). Minor component is 1-octanol (0.5%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical screening of dried leaves and fruits ofJuniperus phoeniceagrowing in Egypt revealed the presence of essential oil, carbohydrates, sterols and/or triterpenes, and flavonoids. The carbohydrates of the edible part, fruits, were investigated by high-performance liquid chromatography while the carbohydrates in the leaves were investigated by paper chromatography. Pharmacological studies were done starting with the determination of median lethal doses (LD50) for total and successive extracts of leaves and fruits of the plant. Antiviral activity of total extracts against HAV-27 and HSV-1 were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Phytochemical screening of the different parts ofChorisia insignisrevealed that all the parts were high in carbohydrates and/or glycosides and relatively low in sterols and/or triterpenes. The yields of successive fractions of 70% ethanol extract with solvents were variable. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the cold and hot hydrolyzates of leaves revealed the identification of four sugars in each hydrolyzate. The major sugar in the cold hydrolyzate was galacturonic acid, while rhamnose and xylose were the main sugars in the hot hydrolyzate. HPLC analysis of the cold and hot hydrolyzates of the stems revealed the identification of four sugars. The major sugar was rhamnose, followed by glucose, galactose and arabinose. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hydrodistillation of berries and leaves of Juniperus phoenicea grown in Sinai yielded volatile oils in the yield of 0.36 and 1.96%, respectively. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technique, fifty eight compounds were identified in berry oil representing 99.2% of the oil composition. alpha-Pinene was the major compound in berry oil (39.30%) followed by sabinene (24.29%). Berry oil composed mainly of monoterpenoids which amounted to 90.53%, of which 72.85% was monoterpene hydrocarbons. The sesquiterpenoids accounted for about 8% of the total oil composition. Leaf oil was composed of about 66 compounds representing 99.16% of the total composition of the oil. alpha-Pinene was the major constituent of leaf oil at concentration of 38.22%, followed by alpha-cedrol (31.23%). The monoterpene hydrocarbon was the predominant chemical group (41.29%) followed by the oxygenated sesquiterpenes (32.21%). Both oils showed very high cytotoxic activities against all cell line tested. They showed equal activities against brain (0.6 microg/ml) and cervix (5.0 microg/ml) human cell lines, while berry oil was slightly more active than leaf oil against lung (0.6 and 0.7 micro/ml, respectively), liver (0.7 and 0.9 microg/ml, respectively) and breast human cell lines (0.8 and 1. microg/ml, respectively).The antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of leaf and berry oils were also determined. The oils showed high activity against most of the tested strains.