Thalassodendron ciliatum (Forssk.) Den Hartog is a seagrass belonging to the plant family Cymodoceaceae with ubiquitous phytoconstituents and important pharmacological potential, including antioxidant, antiviral, and cytotoxic activities. In this work, a new ergosterol derivative named thalassosterol (1) was isolated from the methanolic extract of T. ciliatum growing in the Red Sea, along with two known first-reported sterols, namely ergosterol (2) and stigmasterol (3), using different chromatographic techniques. The structure of the new compound was established based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS) and by comparison with the literature data. The new ergosterol derivative showed significant in vitro antiproliferative potential against the human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines, with IC50 values of 8.12 and 14.24 µM, respectively. In addition, docking studies on the new sterol 1 explained the possible binding interactions with an aromatase enzyme; this inhibition is beneficial in both cervical and breast cancer therapy. A metabolic analysis of the crude extract of T. ciliatum using liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HR-MS) revealed the presence of an array of phenolic compounds, sterols and ceramides, as well as di- and triglycerides.

Artemisia judaica L. (Family: Asteraceae) exhibited antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. The in vitro cytotoxic activity of A. judaica ethanolic extract was screened against a panel of cancer cell lines. The results revealed its cytotoxic activity against a lung cancer (A549) cell line with a promising IC50 of 14.2 μg/mL compared to doxorubicin as a standard. This was confirmed through the downregulation of antiapoptotic genes, the upregulation of proapoptotic genes, and the cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase. Further in vivo study showed that a solid tumor mass was significantly reduced, with a tumor inhibition ratio of 54% relative to doxorubicin therapy in a Xenograft model. From a chemical point of view, various classes of natural products have been identified by liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The docking study of the detected metabolites approved their cytotoxic activity through their virtual binding affinity towards the cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK-2) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) active sites. Finally, A. judaica is a fruitful source of polyphenols that are well-known for their antioxidant and cytotoxic activities. As such, the previously reported polyphenols with anti-lung cancer activity were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). Rutin, quercetin, kaempferol, and apigenin were detected at concentrations of 6 mg/gm, 0.4 mg/gm, 0.36 mg/gm, and 3.9 mg/gm of plant dry extract, respectively. It is worth noting that kaempferol and rutin are reported for the first time. Herein, A. judaica L. may serve as an adjuvant therapy or a promising source of leading structures in drug discovery for lung cancer treatment.

The Red Sea marine fungus Penicillium chrysogenum (Family: Ascomycota) comprises a panel of chemically diverse natural metabolites. A meleagrin alkaloid was isolated from deep-sediment-derived P. chrysogenum Strain S003 and has been reported to exert antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. The present study aimed to explore the therapeutic potential of meleagrin on pulmonary fibrosis. Lung fibrosis was induced in mice by a single intratracheal instillation of 2.5 mg/kg bleomycin. Mice were given 5 mg/kg meleagrin daily either for 3 weeks after bleomycin administration in the treatment group or 2 weeks before and 3 weeks after bleomycin administration in the protection group. Bleomycin triggered excessive ROS production, inflammatory infiltration, collagen overproduction and fibrosis. Bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis was attenuated by meleagrin. Meleagrin was noted to restore the oxidant–antioxidant balance, as evidenced by lower MDA contents and higher levels of SOD and catalase activities and GSH content compared to the bleomycin group. Meleagrin also activated the Nrf2/HO-1 antioxidant signaling pathway and inhibited TLR4 and NF-κB gene expression, with a subsequent decreased release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6 and IFN-γ). Additionally, meleagrin inhibited bleomycin-induced apoptosis by abating the activities of pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 while elevating Bcl2. Furthermore, it suppressed the gene expression of α-SMA, TGF-β1, Smad-2, type I collagen and MMP-9, with a concomitant decrease in the protein levels of TGF-β1, α-SMA, phosphorylated Smad-2, MMP-9, elastin and fibronectin. This study revealed that meleagrin’s protective effects against bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis are attributed to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and antifibrotic properties. Notably, the use of meleagrin as a protective agent against bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis was more efficient than its use as a treatment agent.

Plicosepalus acacia (Fam. Loranthaceae) has been reported to possess hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects. Liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis revealed the presence of a high content of polyphenolic compounds that are attributed to the therapeutic effects of the crude extract. In addition, methyl gallate and quercetin were detected as major phytomedicinal agents at concentrations of 1.7% and 0.062 g%, respectively, using high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). The present study investigated the effect of the P. acacia extract and its isolated compounds, methyl gallate and quercetin, on hind limb ischemia induced in type 1 diabetic rats. Histopathological examination revealed that treatment with P. acacia extract, methyl gallate, and quercetin decreased degenerative changes and inflammation in the ischemic muscle. Further biochemical assessment of the hind limb tissue showed decreased oxidative stress, increased levels of nitric oxide and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), and enhancement of the levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the groups treated with methyl gallate and quercetin. Expression levels of hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α), VEGF, fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), and miR-146a were upregulated in the muscle tissue of methyl gallate- and quercetin-treated groups along with downregulation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). In conclusion, P. acacia extract and its isolated compounds, methyl gallate and quercetin, mediated therapeutic angiogenesis in diabetic hind limb ischemia.

This study presents a comparison between two mistletoe plants—P. acacia and P. curviflorus—regarding their total phenolic contents and antioxidant and anticancer activities. P. curviflorus exhibited a higher total phenolics content (340.62 ± 19.46 mg GAE/g extract), and demonstrated higher DPPH free radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 48.28 ± 3.41µg/mL), stronger reducing power (1.43 ± 0.54 mMol Fe+2/g) for ferric ions, and a greater total antioxidant capacity (41.89 ± 3.15 mg GAE/g) compared to P. acacia. The cytotoxic effects of P. acacia and P. curviflorus methanol extracts were examined on lung (A549), prostate (PC-3), ovarian (A2780) and breast (MDA-MB-231) cancer cells. The highest anticancer potential for the two extracts was observed on PC-3 prostate cancer cells, where P. curviflorus exhibited more pronounced antiproliferative activity (IC50 = 25.83 μg/mL) than P. acacia (IC50 = 34.12 μg/mL). In addition, both of the tested extracts arrested the cell cycle at the Pre-G1 and G1 phases, and induced apoptosis. However, P. curviflorus extract possessed the highest apoptotic effect, mediated by the upregulation of p53, Bax, and caspase-3, 8 and 9, and the downregulation of Bcl-2 expression. In the pursuit to link the chemical diversity of P. curviflorus with the exhibited bioactivities, its metabolomic profiling was achieved by the LC-ESI-TOF-MS/MS technique. This permitted the tentative identification of several phenolics—chiefly flavonoid derivatives, beside some triterpenes and sterols—in the P. curviflorus extract. Furthermore, all of the metabolites in P. curviflorus and P. acacia were inspected for their binding modes towards both CDK-2 and EGFR proteins using molecular docking studies in an attempt to understand the superiority of P. curviflorus over P. acacia regarding their antiproliferative effect on PC-3 cancer cells. Docking studies supported our experimental results; with all of this taken together, P. curviflorus could be regarded as a potential prospect for the development of chemotherapeutics for prostate cancer.

Different classes of phytochemicals were previously isolated from the Red Sea algae Hypnea musciformis as sterols, ketosteroids, fatty acids, and terpenoids. Herein, we report the isolation of three fatty acids—docosanoic acid 4, hexadecenoic acid 5, and alpha hydroxy octadecanoic acid 6—as well as three ceramides—A (1), B (2), and C (3)—with 9-methyl-sphinga-4,8-dienes and phytosphingosine bases. Additionally, different phytochemicals were determined using the liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-HRMS) technique. Ceramides A (1) and B (2) exhibited promising in vitro cytotoxic activity against the human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell line when compared with doxorubicin as a positive control. Further in vivo study and biochemical estimation in a mouse model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) revealed that both ceramides A (1) and B (2) at doses of 1 and 2 mg/kg, respectively, significantly decreased the tumor size in mice inoculated with EAC cells. The higher dose (2 mg/kg) of ceramide B (2) particularly expressed the most pronounced decrease in serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor -B (VEGF-B) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) markers, as well as the expression levels of the growth factor midkine in tumor tissue relative to the EAC control group. The highest expression of apoptotic factors, p53, Bax, and caspase 3 was observed in the same group that received 2 mg/kg of ceramide B (2). Molecular docking simulations suggested that ceramides A (1) and B (2) could bind in the deep grove between the H2 helix and the Ser240-P250 loop of p53, preventing its interaction with MDM2 and leading to its accumulation. In conclusion, this study reports the cytotoxic, apoptotic, and antiangiogenic effects of ceramides isolated from the Red Sea algae Hypnea musciformis in an experimental model of EAC.

Sonchus cornutus (Asteraceae) is a wild. edible plant that represents a plentiful source of polyphenolic compounds. For the first time, the metabolic analysis profiling demonstrated the presence of anthocyanidin glycosides, coumarins, flavonoids and their corresponding glycosides, and phenolic acids. The total phenolic compounds were determined to be 206.28 ± 14.64 mg gallic acid equivalent/gm, while flavonoids were determined to be 45.56 ± 1.78 mg quercetin equivalent/gm. The crude extract of S. cornutus exhibited a significant 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging effect with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 16.10 ± 2.14 µg/mL compared to ascorbic acid as a standard (10.64 ± 0.82 µg/mL). In vitro total antioxidant capacity and ferric reducing power capacity assays revealed a promising reducing potential of S. cornutus extract. Therefore, the possible protective effects of S. cornutus against hepatic and renal toxicity induced by cisplatin in experimental mice were investigated. S. cornutus significantly ameliorated the cisplatin-induced disturbances in liver and kidney functions and oxidative stress, decreased MDA, ROS, and NO levels, and restored CAT and SOD activities. Besides, it reversed cisplatin-driven upregulation in inflammatory markers, including iNOS, IL-6, and IL-1β levels and NF-κB and TNF-α expression, and elevated anti-inflammatory IL-10 levels and Nrf2 expression. Additionally, the extract mitigated cisplatin alteration in apoptotic (Bax and caspase-3) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) proteins. Interestingly, hepatic, and renal histopathology revealed the protective impacts of S. cornutus against cisplatin-induced pathological changes. Our findings guarantee a protective effect of S. cornutus against cisplatin-induced hepatic and renal damage via modulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptotic pathways.

Cynara scolymus L. (Family: Compositae) or artichoke is a nutritious edible plant widely used for its hepatoprotective effect. Crude extracts of flower, bract, and stem were prepared and evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant activity and phenolic content. The flower crude extract exhibited the highest phenolic content (74.29 mg GAE/gm) as well as the best in vitro antioxidant activity using total antioxidant capacity (TAC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FEAP), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhyazyl (DPPH) scavenging assays compared with ascorbic acid. Phenolic fractions of the crude extracts of different parts were separated and identified using high-performance liquid chromatography HPLC-DAD analysis. The silver nanoparticles of these phenolic fractions were established and tested for their cytotoxicity and apoptotic activity. Results showed that silver nanoparticles of a polyphenolic fraction of flower extract (Nano-TP/Flowers) exhibited potent cytotoxicity against prostate (PC-3) and lung (A549) cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 0.85 μg/mL and 0.94 μg/mL, respectively, compared with doxorubicin as a standard. For apoptosis-induction, Nano-TP/Flowers exhibited apoptosis in PC-3 with a higher ratio than in A549 cells. It induced total prostate apoptotic cell death by 227-fold change while it induced apoptosis in A549 cells by 15.6-fold change. Nano-TP/Flowers upregulated both pro-apoptotic markers and downregulated the antiapoptotic genes using RT-PCR. Hence, this extract may serve as a promising source for anti-prostate cancer candidates.