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BackgroundItaly and Tunisia (Africa for the Romans), facing each other on the opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea, have been historically linked since the ancient times. Over the centuries both countries were mutually dominated so the vestiges and traces of a mutual influence are still present. The aim of the present study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the medicinal species present in the respective Floras in order to explore potential analogies and differences in popular phytotherapy that have come out from those reciprocal exchanges having taken place over the centuriesMethodsThe comparative analysis based on the respective floras of both countries takes into consideration the bulk of medicinal species mutually present in Italy and Tunisia, but it focuses on the species growing in areas which are similar in climate. The medicinal uses of these species are considered in accordance with the ethnobotanical literature.ResultsA list of 153 medicinal species belonging to 60 families, present in both floras and used in traditional medicine, was drawn. A considerable convergence in therapeutic uses of many species emerged from these data.ConclusionThis comparative analysis strengthens the firm belief that ethno-botanical findings represent not only an important shared heritage, developed over the centuries, but also a considerable mass of data that should be exploited in order to provide new and useful knowledge.

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Reactive oxygen species are well-known mediators of various biological responses. In this study, we examined the effect of three phenolic acids, caffeic, coumaric and ferulic acids, on superoxide anion production, adhesion and migration of human lung (A549) and colon adenocarcinoma (HT29-D4) cancer cell lines. Proliferation of both tumor cells was inhibited by phenolic acids. Caffeic, coumaric and ferulic acids also significantly inhibited superoxide production in A549 and HT29-D4 cells. Superoxide anion production decreased by 92% and 77% at the highest tested concentration (200 µM) of caffeic acid in A549 and HT29-D4 cell lines respectively. Furthermore, A549 and HT29-D4 cell adhesion was reduced by 77.9% and 79.8% respectively at the higher tested concentration of ferulic acid (200 µM). Migration assay performed towards A549 cell line, revealed that tested compounds reduced significantly cell migration. At the highest concentration tested (200 µM), the covered surface was 7.7%, 9.5% and 35% for caffeic, coumaric or ferulic acids, respectively. These results demonstrate that caffeic, coumaric and ferulic acids may participate as active ingredients in anticancer agents against lung and colon cancer development, at adhesion and migration steps of tumor progression.

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P. putida exhibited a high decolorizing capacity of the studied effluent, compared to the coagulation-flocculation method with decolorization percentage of 86% and 34.5%, respectively. Genotoxicity of the studied effluent, before and after decolorization by P. putida mt-2, was evaluated in vitro, using the SOS chromotest, and in vivo, in mouse bone marrow, by assessing the percentage of cells bearing different chromosome aberrations compared to not treated mice. In addition, textile effluent statistically significant influenced acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities and lipid peroxidation (p < 0.01) when compared to not-treated mice. Coagulation-flocculation treatment process used by industry was revealed to be ineffective. Indeed toxicities persisted after treatment and the effluent did not show any statistically significant decrease in toxicities compared to non-treated effluent. Our results indicate that P. putida is a promising and improved alternative to treating industrial scale effluent compared to current chemical decolorization procedures used by the Tunisian textile industry.