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Objective To investigate Acacia honey from different altitudes regarding total phenols and flavonoids, laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectra and anticancer activity against human cancer cell lines. Methods Anticancer activity was investigated using sulforhodamine B cytotoxicity assays in the following human cancer cell lines: HCT116 (colon); MCF7 (breast), and HepG2 (liver). Total phenols and flavonoids were measured using spectrophotometric methods and LIF was used to differentiate between low and high-altitude honey. Results The LIF spectra differed between low and high-altitude Acacia honey. High altitude Acacia honey was characterized by significantly lower total phenol content (81.47 ± 1.25 mg gallic acid equivalent [GAE]/100 g) and increased total flavonoids (10.63 ± 0.53 mg quercetin equivalent [QE]/100 g) versus low altitude Acacia honey (91.33 ± 0.96 mg GAE/100 g and 8.78 ± 0.23 mg QE/100 g, respectively). Low altitude Acacia honey displayed increased IC50 values against HCT116 and MCF7 cells (264.17 ± 10.5 and 482.65 ± 20.3 µg/ml, respectively) versus high altitude Acacia honey (117.99 ± 12.7 and 189.82 ± 15.8 µg/ml, respectively). Conclusions High altitude Acacia honey had significantly more effective anticancer activity against HCT116 and MCF7 cells compared with low altitude honey.

Different factors are known to affect the chemical constituents of the bees honey including the climate and the floral origin. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of floral origin and altitude on some physiochemical properties of honey samples from the south western part of Saudi Arabia. The investigated physiochemical properties were the pH, conductivity and the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and dicarbonyl molecules. Fifteen Ziziphus spina christi honey samples were collected from three different altitudes in Asir Region (113, 317 and 511 meters above sea level) and twenty fiveAcacia spp honey samples (14, 113, 567, 576 and 2247 meters above sea level). Honey pollens were analyzed to confirm the botanical origin of the honey samples. The pH and conductivity of the honey were determined and compared to three honey standards (Gulf countries standards, CODEX and USA national honey board). The hydrogen peroxide percentage (ww) was determined by titration with ceric sulfate and ferroin as indicator while the dicarbonyls were determined as glyoxal equivalent using spectrophotometer. The pH and conductivity were measured using pH meter and conductometer. The SPSS version 20 program was used for the analysis of the obtained results. The honey samples contained high amounts of the plants pollens and the pH and conductivity were within the standards ranges. The Ziziphus honey was characterized by significantly high mean percentage of hydrogen peroxide (3.9% ± 2.2) compared to the Acacia honey (2.5% ± 0.83) and the Acacia honey contained the highest mean concentration of the dicarbonyl molecules (278.7mg/100g ± 278.4) compared to (147.6mg/ 100g ± 93.2) in the Ziziphus honey. Regarding the effect of altitude, the high altitudes were characterized by low concentrations of hydrogen peroxides and high concentration of dicarbonyl molecules. The altitude significantly increased the dicarbonyl molecules concentration and significantly decreased the hydrogen peroxide percentage.The Ziziphus honey was characterized by significant high percentage of hydrogen peroxide while the Acacia honey was characterized by significant high concentration of dicarbonyl molecules.

In this study, Tamarix aphylla and Aerva javanica, plants used in folkloric medicine in the Asir region of Saudi Arabia were studied ethnobotanically, chemically, and biologically to assess their medicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, and biological activities. Ethnobotanical data were collected using semistructured interviews and the use values were calculated. A total of 61 informants were interviewed and results indicated high-value uses (0.9 and 0.7) for the plants. Phytochemical investigation indicated that the plants contained most of the phytochemicals that were tested for. The antioxidant activity was examined by assaying total phenolic content, 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) radical scavenging activity. .The bark extract of T. aphylla showed the best antioxidant effect in total phenolic content, DPPH, and H 2 O 2 assays (278.02 AE 0.16 mg GAE/100 g; The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50): DPPH, 18.39 AE 0.62 lg/mL; H 2 O 2 , 252.94 AE 1.86 lg/mL), followed by extract of the A. javanica aerial parts (228.60 AE 2.09 mg GAE/100 g; IC 50 : DPPH, 28.54 AE 0.53 lg/mL; H 2 O 2 , 154.17 AE 0.78 lg/mL) compared with ascorbic acid (DPPH: 27.27 AE 0.11 lg/mL; H 2 O 2 : 164.9 AE 0.37 lg/mL). The disc diffusion method performed for antimicrobial activity revealed weak activities in T. aphylla and A. javanica extracts (100 lg/mL) against six human pathogens. It was concluded that these plants possess therapeutic potential in the treatment of 18 types of ailments, which are important phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activities that justify their therapeutic uses in traditional medicine. Thus, this study laid sufficient background for further pharmacological research on extracts of these plants.

The present study aimed to determine the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs), thyme oil (THO), or their combination on the nutrient digestibility coefficients, reproductive parameters, and some blood metabolites of male Californian rabbits. One hundred rabbits, 29-weeks of age (initial body weight 3.48 ± 0.08 kg) were randomly distributed into four groups, 25 rabbits each. Treatment groups were fed a control diet, a control diet supplemented with ZnO-NPs (100 mg/kg), THO (500 mg/kg), or combination of ZnO-NPs (100 mg/kg) and THO (500 mg/kg). The feeding trial lasted for 35 days. Results showed improvements in dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and crude fiber in ZnO-NPs, THO, and their combination treated groups compared to those of control. Furthermore, semen volume, sperm motility, vitality, and morphology were significantly improved (p < 0.01) in ZnO-NPs and THO groups rather than the control. Both ZnO-NPs and THO, as either individual or combined treatments significantly improved the serum alanine amino-transferase (ALT), aspartate amino-transferase (AST), urea, and creatinine compared to the control. Moreover, serum concentrations of testosterone were significantly increased in rabbits supplemented with ZnO-NPs, THO, or their combination compared to those of control (p < 0.05). In conclusion, ZnO-NPs, THO, or their combination improved the digestibility of nutrients, liver/ kidney functions, semen characteristics, and testosterone concentration in male rabbits.

Zilla spinosa is commonly used in traditional medicine to treat gastrointestinal disorders and diabetes. In this study, aqueous ethanol (AE) and aqueous methanol (AM) extracts from aerial parts and roots of Z. spinosa were investigated. The total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid (TFC) contents and antioxidant capacities in terms of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays were determined, and the correlations among the results were assessed using Pearson’s correlation. The antimicrobial activity was assessed through agar disc diffusion and broth microdilution assays. Phytochemical screening showed that Z. spinosa extracts had alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, triterpenoids, phenols, and flavonoids in different abundances. The aerial part-AE extract contained low TPC (30.17 ± 4.24 mg GAE/g) and TFC (7.40 ± 1.02 mg QE/g) and displayed significant antioxidant capacity in the DPPH (IC50 = 52.17 ± 7.30 μg/mL), H2O2 (91.22 ± 2.60 μg/mL), and FRAP (EC50 = 98.70 ± 2.21 μg/mL) assays. By contrast, the root-AM extract contained high amounts of TPC (87.72 ± 7.75 mg GAE/g) and TFC (25.60 ± 1.57 mg QE/g). It showed significantly high antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 12.33 ± 1.88 μg/mL in the DPPH and 39.37 ± 2.59 μg/mL in the H2O2 assays, as well as reducing power capacity with an EC50 value of 20.82 ± 1.14 μg/mL in the FRAP assay. Both TPC and TFC were exhibited negative correlations ( p < 0.01 ) with the IC50 and EC50 values obtained in the applied antioxidant assays. The aerial part-AM extract showed the highest inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus (26.5 ± 0.20 mm), followed by Shigella flexneri (19.4 ± 0.40 mm) and Proteus mirabilis (17.7 ± 0.49 mm). S. aureus was the most affected microorganism with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 128 μg/mL against the aerial part-AM extract. Interestingly, all evaluated extracts showed potent antifungal activity against Candida albicans. However, aerial part-AM was the most effective, with an inhibition zone of 12.6 ± 0.17 mm. The results concluded that Z. spinosa possesses different phytochemicals displaying significant antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, thus lending credence to its use in traditional medicine.

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