Bacterial biofilm contributes to antibiotic resistance. Developing antibiofilm agents, more favored from natural origin, is a potential method for treatment of highly virulent multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial strains; The potential of Pimenta dioica and Pimenta racemosa essential oils (E.Os) antibacterial and antibiofilm activities in relation to their chemical composition, in addition to their ability to treat Acinetobacter baumannii wound infection in mice model were investigated; P. dioica leaf E.O at 0.05 µg·mL⁻¹ efficiently inhibited and eradicated biofilm formed by A. baumannii by 85% and 34%, respectively. Both P. diocia and P. racemosa leaf E.Os showed a bactericidal action against A. baumanii within 6h at 2.08 µg·mL⁻¹. In addition, a significant reduction of A. baumannii microbial load in mice wound infection model was found. Furthermore, gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis revealed qualitative and quantitative differences among P. racemosa and P. dioica leaf and berry E.Os. Monoterpene hydrocarbons, oxygenated monoterpenes, and phenolics were the major detected classes. β-Myrcene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, and eugenol were the most abundant volatiles. While, sesquiterpenes were found as minor components in Pimenta berries E.O; Our finding suggests the potential antimicrobial activity of Pimenta leaf E.O against MDR A. baumannii wound infections and their underlying mechanism and to be further tested clinically as treatment for MDR A. baumannii infections.

Gastric ulceration is among the most serious humanpublic health problems. Olea europea L. cv. Arbequina is one of the numerous olive varieties which have scarcely been studied. The reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential of the olive plant make it a potential prophylactic natural product against gastric ulcers. Consequently, the main goal of this study is to investigate the gastroprotective effect of Olea europea L. cv. Arbequina leaf extract. LC-HRMS-based metabolic profiling of the alcoholic extract of Olea europea L. cv. Arbequina led to the dereplication of 18 putative compounds (1–18). In vivo indomethacin-induced gastric ulcer in a rat model was established and the Olea europea extract was tested at a dose of 300 mg kg⁻¹ compared to cimetidine (100 mg kg⁻¹). The assessment of gastric mucosal lesions and histopathology of gastric tissue was done. It has been proved that Olea europea significantly decreased the ulcer index and protected the mucosa from lesions. The antioxidant potential of the extract was evaluated using three in vitro assays, H₂O₂ scavenging, xanthine oxidase inhibitory, and superoxide radical scavenging activities and showed promising activities. Moreover, an in silico based study was performed on the putatively dereplicated compounds, which highlighted that 3-hydroxy tyrosol (4) and oleacein (18) can target the 5-lipoxygenase enzyme (5-LOX) as a protective mechanism against the pathogenesis of ulceration. Upon experimental validation, both compounds 3-hydroxy tyrosol (HT) and oleacein (OC) (4 and 18, respectively) exhibited a significant in vitro 5-LOX inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ values of 8.6 and 5.8 µg/mL, respectively. The present study suggested a possible implication of O. europea leaves as a potential candidate having gastroprotective, antioxidant, and 5-LOX inhibitory activity for the management of gastric ulcers.

Euphorbia plants have been identified as potential sources of antitumor lead compounds. The current study aimed to isolate and identify the main active constituents of Euphorbia abyssinica latex followed by a cytotoxic evaluation. A network pharmacology approach was employed to predict the underlying mechanism. Finally, drug-likeness and ADMET studies were conducted for active compounds. The phytochemical investigation of the latex of E. abyssinica resulted in the isolation of two triterpenes, 3-acetyloxy-(3α)-urs-12-en-28-oic methyl ester (1) and lup-20(29)-en-3α,23-diol (2). The dichloromethane extract displayed potent cytotoxic activity against the MCF7 cell line with an IC₅₀ value of 4.27 ± 0.12 μg/mL but weak activity against HepG2 and HeLa cell lines (IC₅₀ = 20.47 ± 1.17 and 26.73 ± 2.99 μg/mL, respectively) compared to doxorubicin. Compound 1 showed an encouraging cytotoxic effect against MCF7 with IC₅₀ = 4.20 ± 0.20 μg/mL, followed by compound 2 (IC₅₀ = 5.8 ± 0.35 μg/mL). The network analysis revealed that the two isolated compounds are linked to 68 targets of human nature, among which 51 genes are linked to breast carcinomas and 5 targets (AR, CYP19A1, EGFR, PGR, and PTGS2) might be the top therapeutic targets of isolated compounds on breast cancer. Furthermore, the gene-enrichment analysis revealed that E. abyssinica could play a role in the treatment of breast cancer by striking 51 potential targets via mainly three signaling pathways: P13K-AKT, Wnt, and VEGF. Therefore, isolated triterpenes could be considered effective antitumor agents for breast cancer by elucidating their candidate target to alleviate breast cancer and related signaling pathways of the targets.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered one of the most serious public health problems affecting liver. The reported beneficial impact of raspberries on obesity and associated metabolic disorder makes it a suitable candidate against NAFLD. In the current study, the chemical profile of raspberry seed oil (RO) was characterized by analysis of fatty acid and tocopherol contents using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in addition to the determination of total phenolic and flavonoids. High levels of unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid (49.9%), α-linolenic acid (25.98%), and oleic acid (17.6%), along with high total tocopherol content (184 mg/100 gm) were detected in oil. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents in RO were estimated to be 22.40 ± 0.25 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 mg oil and 1.34 ± 0.15 mg quercetin (QU)/100 mg, respectively. Anti-NAFLD efficacy of RO at different doses (0.4 and 0.8 mL) in a model of a high-fat diet (HFD) fed rats was assessed by estimating lipid profile, liver enzyme activity, glucose and insulin levels as well as adipokines and inflammatory marker. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), which is a molecular target for NAFLD was also tested. Liver histopathology was carried out and its homogenate was used to estimate oxidative stress markers. Consumption of RO significantly improved lipid parameters and hepatic enzyme activities, reduced insulin resistance and glucose levels, significantly ameliorated inflammatory and oxidative stress markers. Furthermore, RO treatment significantly modulated adipokines activities and elevated PPARγ levels. Raspberry seed oil administration significantly improved these HFD induced histopathological alterations. Moreover, a molecular docking study was performed on the identified fatty acids and tocopherols. Among the identified compounds, oleic acid, α-linolenic acid and γ-tocopherol exhibited the highest docking score as PPARγ activator posing them as a potential anti-NAFLD drug leads. Study findings suggest RO as an effective therapeutic candidate for ameliorating NAFLD.

Wounds adversely affect people’s quality of life and have psychological, social, and economic impacts. Herbal remedies of Launaea procumbens (LP) are used to treat wounds. In an excision wound model, topical application of LP significantly promoted wound closure (on day 14, LP-treated animals had the highest percentages of wound closure in comparison with the other groups, as the wound was entirely closed with a closure percentage of 100%, p < 0.05). Histological analysis revealed a considerable rise in the number of fibroblasts, the amount of collagen, and its cross-linking in LP-treated wounds. Gene expression patterns showed significant elevation of TGF-β levels (2.1-fold change after 7 days treatment and 2.7-fold change in 14 days treatment) and downregulation of the inflammatory TNF-α and IL-1β levels in LP-treated wounds. Regarding in vitro antioxidant activity, LP extract significantly diminished the formation of H₂O₂ radical (IC₅₀ = 171.6 μg/mL) and scavenged the superoxide radical (IC₅₀ of 286.7 µg/mL), indicating antioxidant potential in a dose-dependent manner. Dereplication of the secondary metabolites using LC-HRMS resulted in the annotation of 16 metabolites. The identified compounds were docked against important wound-healing targets, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), collagen α-1, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Among dereplicated compounds, luteolin 8-C-glucoside (orientin) demonstrated binding potential to four investigated targets (VEGF, interleukin 1β, TNF-α, and collagen α-1). To conclude, Launaea procumbens extract could be regarded as a promising topical therapy to promote wound healing in excisional wounds, and luteolin 8-C-glucoside (orientin), one of its constituents, is a potential wound-healing drug lead.

Glutinol, a triterpenoid compound, has no documented systematic investigation into its mechanism. Hence, we used network pharmacology to investigate glutinol’s mechanism. The chemical formula of glutinol was searched in the PubChem database for our investigation. The BindingDB Database was utilized to discover probable glutinol target genes after ADMET analysis with the pkCSM software. DAVID tools were also used to perform Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of target genes. We also uploaded the targets to the STRING database to obtain the protein interaction network at the same time. Then, we performed some molecular docking using glutinol and targets. Finally, we used Cytoscape to visualize and evaluate a protein–protein interaction network and a drug-target-pathway network. Glutinol has good biological activity and drug utilization, according to our findings. A total of 32 target genes were discovered. Bioinformatics and network analysis were used, allowing the discovery that these target genes are linked to carcinogenesis, diabetes, inflammatory response, and other biological processes. These findings showed that glutinol can operate on a wide range of proteins and pathways to establish a pharmacological network that can be useful in drug development and use.