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Hydrodistillation of berries and leaves of Juniperus phoenicea grown in Sinai yielded volatile oils in the yield of 0.36 and 1.96%, respectively. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technique, fifty eight compounds were identified in berry oil representing 99.2% of the oil composition. α-Pinene was the major compound in berry oil (39.30%) followed by sabinene (24.29%). Berry oil composed mainly of monoterpenoids which amounted to 90.53%, of which 72.85% was monoterpene hydrocarbons. The sesquiterpenoids accounted for about 8% of the total oil composition. Leaf oil was composed of about 66 compounds representing 99.16% of the total composition of the oil. α-Pinene was the major constituent of leaf oil at concentration of 38.22%, followed by α -cedrol (31.23%). The monoterpene hydrocarbon was the predominant chemical group (41.29%) followed by the oxygenated sesquiterpenes (32.21%). Both oils showed very high cytotoxic activities against all cell line tested. They showed equal activities against brain (0.6 µg//ml) and cervix (5.0 µg//ml) human cell lines, while berry oil was slightly more active than leaf oil against lung (0.6 and 0.7 µ/ml, respectively), liver (0.7 and 0.9 µg//ml, respectively) and breast human cell lines (0.8 and 1. µg//ml, respectively). The antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of leaf and berry oils were also determined. The oils showed high activity against most of the tested strains.

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Opuntia ficus-indica extract has been used in traditional folk medicine for several purposes and exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. This study was directed to explore the prophylactic effect of O. ficus-indica fruit peel extract against irradiation-induced colitis in rats. GC/MS analysis of the petroleum ether extract led to recognition of 33 compounds in the unsaponifiable fraction and 15 fatty acid methyl esters in the saponifiable part. Thirteen terpenes and sterols were isolated and identified from which ten compounds were not isolated from any part of this species before. Data showed that irradiation induced colon injury as manifested by elevated contents of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, myeloperoxidase, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and nuclear factor kappa B, while it reduced superoxide dismutase activity and interleukin 10 content in colonic tissues, which was confirmed by histopathological examination. Pretreatment with O. ficus-indica extract attenuated the alteration in the measured parameters. It could be concluded that O. ficus-indica fruit peel extract can be regarded as a potential agent in limiting colonic complications due to irradiation, possibly by its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

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The predacious mites Amblyseius gossipi El-Badry and A. swirskii Athias-Henroit developed, survived and reproduced successfully on several artificial diets. The best diet consisted of 1 g yeast, 1 g milk, 30 mg cystine, 30 mg proline, 30 mg arginine, 20 mg sucrose, 50 mg glucose, 30 mg streptomycin sulphate and droplets of sorbic acid. Mean eggs/female/day by the two predators was 0.54 and 030 when reared on the best diet compared to 1.21 and 0.40 when fed on a natural diet, respectively. Female longevity of A. swirskiiv/as 84 3 days, nearly twice as long as that on a natural diet Eggs showed no abnormalities; larvae fed on diets had normal development, and adults were comparable hi size to individuals reared on a natural diet. Resuml-Les acariens a predation, Amblyseius gossipi El Badry et A. swirskii Athias-Henroit etaient capables de se developper, survivre et se reproduire avec succes sur plusieurs milieux artificiels. Un milieu artlficiel compose de levure, lait, acides amlne et sucres a indiuit une oviposition soutenue et fourni un alimentation suffesante pour les predateurs. Le taux moyen d'oviposition des femelles etait d'environ la moitie et les 3/4 du taux complet chez les deux predateurs respectivement quand lls etaient testes sur milieu naturel. La longevity des femelles deA. swirskii etait a peu pres deux fois aussi longue que sur milieu naturel. Les oeufs obtenus des essais d'oviposition ne montraient aucune anotmalete. Les larves alimentees sur milieux artificiels avaient un developpement normal. Les adultes etaient semblables en taille aux indlvidus eleves sur milieux naturels.

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Background: Natural products played an essential role as a complementary cytotoxic agent avoiding complications of other therapies. In phytoformulation research, herbal drugs of nano-size have attracted more attention for more bioavailability and less active dose. We aim in this work to introduce new non-mutagenic cytotoxic agent from Thevetia peruviana leaves extracts and potentiate the activity by loading upon microemulsion formulations as an advanced mode of drug delivery system. Results: Thevetia peruviana toxicity test revealed its safety (LD 50 = 3.083 g/kg). In vivo genotoxicity tests measuring chromosomal aberrations were done to prove non-mutagenicity of the plant for both somatic and germ cells. The plant showed antioxidant activity with 121.215, 128.925, and 120.098 mg/g extract, calculated as Trolox equivalent (TE/g) for DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays, respectively. Successive extracts of the plant were incorporated in microemulsion formulations (MEF) and characterized for their electrical conductivity, poly-dispersity index, and in vitro drug release action. Cytotoxic activity of successive extracts was investigated against breast MCF7 and liver HEPG2 carcinoma cell lines before and after loading upon MEs. Enhancement in activity was detected for both pet. ether and ethanol MEFs, as IC 50 of pet. ether extract decreased from 25 to 6.5 μg/ml against MCF7 cell line, while ethanol formulation recorded IC 50 = 3.58 μg/ml against HEPG2 cell line after showing no activity of the extract at the tested concentrations. Regarding metabolites of polar fraction, total ethanol extract was estimated for total phenolic and flavonoid contents to record 47.7941 mg GAE/g calculated as gallic acid equivalent and 32.7667 mg CE/g measured as catechin equivalent, respectively. HPLC analysis for polar fraction recorded twelve compounds identified according to the available authentics with rutin the major flavonoid (7.33 mg/g) and rosmarinic acid (13.48 mg/g) the most abundant phenolic acid. Phytoconstituents of non-polar fraction were investigated after saponification of pet. ether extract using GC/MS analysis revealed the identification of 88.02% of the total unsaponifiable matter and 89.17 % of the total saponifiable matter. Conclusion: Thevetia peruviana is a safe cytotoxic agent. Microemulsion formulations of active extracts potentiate the cytotoxic actions against HEPG2 and MCF7 cell lines with better bioavailability and less medicinal doses.