Background. The plants brought by Arabs were of real therapeutic values. Ibn Al-Baitar, an Islamic scholar (pharmacist, botanist, and physician), in his encyclopedia wrote the detailed characterization of more than one thousand herbs describing their medicinal value, methods of preparation, and their route of administration. Objectives. The current investigation points towards the quantitative characterization of the phenolic contents among the four edible Malva plants species (Malva sylvestris L., Malva oxyloba Boiss., Malva parviflora L., and Malva aegyptia L.) and also towards assessing their antibacterial activity against one Gram-positive isolate (Staphylococcus aureus) and four Gram-negative strains Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella sonnei, and Proteus vulgaris. It also aimed to evaluate the free radical scavenging activity of hexane, methanolic, aqueous, and acetone extracts of four Malva species. Methods. By utilizing the Folin–Ciocalteu procedure and gallic acid as a reference molecule, the phenolic contents were estimated. In addition, the broth microdilution method was used to evaluate four plants’ 16 extracts, and the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method was utilized to assess the abovementioned extracts against oxidative stress. Results. The results showed that the methanolic extract of M. oxyloba has the highest contents of phenols (191.54 ± 2.84 mg of GAE/g) and has the best antioxidant capacity with an IC50 value of 1.94 ± 1.84 µg/ml, which is very close to Trolox. Regarding the ferrous ion chelating activity of the extract, the methanolic extract of M. sylvestris exhibits appreciable activity with IC50 values of 52.7 ± 1.8 µg/ml. In addition, the plant extract and acetone extract of M. sylvestris showed a strong antibacterial activity with an MIC value of 0.0078 mg/ml. Conclusion. The methanolic extract of M. oxyloba has a pharmacological potential as a valuable natural product that can be utilized as a main ingredient in the design and development of new therapeutic formulations. It exerts multiple inhibitory properties against oxidative stress and bacterial growth. As such, it is emerging as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases and many types of human infectious diseases.
Allopurinol, a competitive inhibitor of xanthine oxidase, was found to have a protective effect on ischemic myocardium. Its mechanism of action is still controversial. We used Langendorff isolated rat heart preparation to test the hypothesis that allopurinol could maintain a level of the adenine nucleotide pool (ATP, ADP, and AMP) that would protect and improve the functional activity of the heart during a period of hypoxia. Hearts were initially perfused for 30 min until steady state was attained. This was followed by 20 min of experimental perfusion divided into 5 min of control perfusion followed by 15 min of hypoxic perfusion with or without allopurinol in the perfusate. Hearts were quick-frozen and enzymatically analyzed for adenine nucleotides and creatine phosphate at the end of the hypoxic period. Left ventricular pressure, heart rate, and coronary flow were measured in all preparations. Allopurinol (0.1 mM) treated hearts had greater levels of ATP (12.3 +/- 0.8 vs. 9.3 +/- 0.8 micromol/g dry weight; p < 0.01). This improvement occurred in the presence as well as the absence of glucose. Total adenine nucleotides improved from 17 +/- 1 to 20.3 +/- 2.4 micromol/g dry weight (p < 0.01). This improvement also occurred in the presence as well as in the absence of glucose in the perfusate. It also improved cell energy state significantly in the presence as well as the absence of glucose. There was insignificant change in creatine phosphate. Allopurinol improved left ventricular pressure from 38 +/- 7% to 55 +/- 9% (p < 0.002) in the presence of glucose and from 8 +/- 3% to 27 +/- 6.3% (p < 0.001) in the absence of glucose. Coronary flow improved from 110 +/- 5% to 120 +/- 8% (p < 0.04) in the presence of glucose. These results support the suggestion that allopurinol at 0.1 mM exerts its protective effect on rat heart during hypoxia by enhancing the adenine nucleotide pool.
The use of the synthetic drugs has increased in the last few decades; however, these drugs exhibit various side effects. Scientists are therefore seeking alternatives from natural sources. Commiphora gileadensis has long been used to treat various disorders. It is commonly known as bisham or balm of Makkah. This plant contains various phytochemicals, including polyphenols and flavonoids, with biological potential. We found that steam-distilled essential oil of C. gileadensis exhibited higher antioxidant activity (IC50, 22.2 µg/mL) than ascorbic acid (IC50, 1.25 µg/mL). The major constituents (>2%) in the essential oil were β-myrcene, nonane, verticiol, β-phellandrene, β-cadinene, terpinen-4-ol, β-eudesmol, α-pinene, cis-β-copaene and verticillol, which might be responsible for the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The extract of C. gileadensis exhibited inhibitory activity against cyclooxygenase (IC50, 450.1 µg/mL), xanthine oxidase (251.2 µg/mL) and protein denaturation (110.5 µg/mL) compared to standard treatments, making it a viable treatment from a natural plant source. LC-MS analysis revealed the presence of phenolic compounds such as caffeic acid phenyl ester, hesperetin, hesperidin, chrysin and transient amounts of catechin, gallic acid, rutin and caffeic acid. The chemical constituents of this plant can be explored further to investigate its wide variety of therapeutic potential.
Phenol is a severe pollutant that harms the environment and, potentially, human health. This study aimed to investigate the biodegradability of phenol by the plant growth-promoting bacterium R. nepotum. That included studying the growth kinetics and the effects of growth conditions such as incubation temperature, pH, and the use of different substrate concentrations. As the primary substrate, six different starting concentrations of phenol were utilized. The ability of these cells to biodegrade phenol was greatly influenced by the culture conditions. After 36 and 96 hours of incubation at pH 7 and a temperature of 28 C, this organism grew the fastest and had the highest phenol biodegradation. The biodegradation rate is much higher at 700 mg/L, the highest of the six concentrations tried. In less than 96 hours of incubation, more than 90% of the phenol (700 mg/L) had been eliminated. The Haldane model has been the most accurate for determining the relationship between the initial concentration of phenol and growth rate. In contrast, the refined Gompertz model provided the most accurate depiction of phenol biodegradation over time. As predicted by the Haldane equation, the highest specific growth rate, half-saturation coefficient, and Haldane's growth kinetics inhibition coefficient are 0.7161 h1, 15.8 parts per million (ppm), and 292 parts per million (ppm), respectively. The equation of Haldane successfully fitted the experimental data by reducing the SSR (sum of squared errors) to 3.8x10 3. According to the results of the analysis by GC-MS for the bacterial culture sample, the hydroxylase enzyme was the first to convert the phenol molecule into catechol. The catechol was subsequently broken down into 2-hydroxymucconic semialdehyde by the 2,3-dioxygenase enzyme, which occurred through the meta-pathway. It is the first study showing that R. nepotum, a plant growth promoter, has high efficiency of phenol. In phenol-stressed conditions, this could help with rhizoremediation and crop yield preservation.
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