Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a popular herb in cooking, traditional healing, and aromatherapy. The essential oils of R. officinalis were obtained from plants growing in Victoria (Australia), Alabama (USA), Western Cape (South Africa), Kenya, Nepal, and Yemen. Chemical compositions of the rosemary oils were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as well as chiral gas chromatography. The oils were dominated by (+)-α-pinene (13.5%–37.7%), 1,8-cineole (16.1%–29.3%), (+)-verbenone (0.8%–16.9%), (−)-borneol (2.1%–6.9%), (−)-camphor (0.7%–7.0%), and racemic limonene (1.6%–4.4%). Hierarchical cluster analysis, based on the compositions of these essential oils in addition to 72 compositions reported in the literature, revealed at least five different chemotypes of rosemary oil. Antifungal, cytotoxicity, xanthine oxidase inhibitory, and tyrosinase inhibitory activity screenings were carried out, but showed only marginal activities.

The essential oil from the leaves of Tagetes minuta L., growing wild in Yemen, was obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 28 compounds were identified representing 74.2% of total oil composition. Major components of the essential oil were (Z)-ocimenone (15.9%), (E)-ocimenone (34.8%), (Z)-β-ocimene (8.3%), limonene (2.3%), (Z)-tagetone (1.8%), dihydrotagetone (1.4%) and an unidentified dimethylvinylketone derivative (20.6%). The oil showed moderate cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 breast tumor cells, with an IC 50 of 54.7  6.2 μg/mL. In the DPPH radical scavenging assay, T. minuta oil showed potent antiradical activity with an IC 50 value of 36 µg/mL. Antimicrobial activity was also investigated on several microorganisms, and the essential oil exhibited high activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with an inhibition zone of 23 mm. It also exhibited remarkable antifungal activity against Candida albicans with an inhibition zone of 26 mm.

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Background: Calendula arvensis is an annual Mediterranean plant growing in Morocco between Rabat and Khemissat. C. arvensisis is known in folk medicine as an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic remedy. However, few reports have investigated its pharmacological properties. Methods: The objective of the present study was to determine chemical composition of C. arvensis flowers, and to investigate their antidiabetic activities by mean of digestive enzyme inhibition. The profile of phenolic compounds was established by HPLC-DAD-QTOF-MS analysis. While the antidiabetic activity was evaluated by the in vitro enzyme inhibition assays. Results: Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of anthocyanins, flavonoids, tannins, and saponins as major elements. Whereas, alkaloids and terpenes were not detected in the plant samples. The chromatographic quantification identified 18 metabolites, with the caffeic acid as a major element. C. arvensis aqueous and methanolic extracts exhibited higher inhibitory potential against α-amylase, α- glucosidase and ß-galactosidase compared to the hexanic extract. Conclusion: The present study brings evidence to the hypoglycemic effect of C. arvensis flowers through enzyme inhibitory activities, and identifies the possible phenolic compounds associated with this activity.

Carbapenem resistance is a major and a future public health problem globally. It occurs mainly among Gram-negative bacteria.  Meropenem is the recently marketed carbapenem drug in Yemen. However, recent emergence of carbapenem-resistant isolates has become a major healthcare concern. The current study was designed to estimate the prevalence of meropenem resistance among hospitalised patients in Sana'a, Yemen. The study was performed at a local hospital in Sana’a, Yemen. The records of Meropenem susceptibility were taken for hospitalised patients. A total of 443 Meropenem susceptibility samples were collected from August, 2017 to July, 2018. The meropenem susceptibility was studied against several isolated pathogens. Out of 443 study sample, 316 (71.3%) were meropenem sensitive isolates and 25.3% of samples were resistant. The Escherichia coli isolates were observed in 27.5% of sample, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.6%). 36.4% of total meropenem sensitive isolates (115/316) were Escherichia coli. In addition, 94.3% (115/122) of Escherichia coli isolates were meropenem sensitive. However, the Klebsiella species had higher meropenem resistance than other pathogens (30/112; 26.8%). Moreover, 89.7% (26/29) of Acinetobacter species isolates were meropenem resistant. 82.4% (42/51) of Klebsiella pneumonia isolates were meropenem sensitive and 32.2% (28/87) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were meropenem resistance. In the present study, 34.5% (109/316) of meropenem sensitive isolates were from blood cultures, followed by sputum cultures (23.7%; 75/316). However, 58% (65/112) of sputum culture isolates were meropenem resistance. This study concluded that the percentage of resistance to meropenem was high (25.3%) and cannot be neglected. Continued surveillance to closely monitor trends as well as infection control and antibiotic stewardship activities are necessary to preserve treatment options. A more careful monitoring for use of broad-spectrum antibiotics should be instituted.