Viscum continuum E. Mey. Ex Sprague is a woody evergreen semi-parasitic shrub that grows on the branches of other trees. It is used by African traditional healers for post-stroke management. This study reports on the qualitative phytochemical screening and the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Viscum continuum’s acetone, methanol, hexane and dichloromethane extracts. Standard protocols for the phytochemical screening of extracts were employed. TLC bio-autography was used for qualitative antioxidants analysis. Assays: 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl, H₂O₂ free-radical scavenging and ferric chloride reducing power were carried out for quantitative antioxidant analysis. The antimicrobial potential of extracts was screened using disc diffusion, bio-autography and broth micro-dilution. The results indicate the presence of alkaloids, phenolics and tannins in all extracts. Acetone and methanol revealed significant amount of saponins, phenolics, tannins and terpenoids. The extracts exhibited significant antioxidant potential on TLC with positive compound bands at an Rf range of 0.05–0.89. DPPH, H₂O₂ and the reduction of Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺ assays indicated that methanol extract has a strong antioxidant potential, followed by acetone, DCM and lastly hexane. The extracts of Viscum continuum show the potential to be antibacterial agents. It can be concluded that Viscum continuum extracts contain phytochemicals which are capable of mitigating against chronic health conditions such as cancer, stroke and stress-related and infectious diseases.

Annona senegalensis pers, Sutherlandia frutescens (L.), and Withania somnifera (L.) are abundant plants and widely distributed in the Limpopo, Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, North West and Mpumalanga provinces in South Africa. The three plants are among those used by traditional healers and herbalists in South Africa for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer. The current study aimed at the phytochemical screening and characterization of volatile compounds from the three medicinal plants using GC-MS. The methanol leaf extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening using standard chemical tests to detect the presence of different classes of compounds. Volatile compounds were detected by GC-MS analysis, and detected compounds were identified by comparing the MS spectral data with those of compounds deposited in the NIST Library (NIST08). Phytochemical screening indicated the presence of different secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, quinones, steroids, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, and terpenoids in all plants. GC-MS chromatograms allowed the detection and identification of 19 volatile compounds among the three plants with known bioactivities that are important in the management of life-threatening diseases such as cancer and diabetes. The results confirm the leaves of Annona senegalensis, Sutherlandia frutescens, and Withania somnifera as sources of important phytochemicals and therefore justify their use for the treatment of various diseases by traditional healers.

The exploring of biostimulant sources is important for sustainable agriculture. Although all parts of the moringa plant (Moringa oleifera Lam.) are rich in phytohormones and phytochemicals which may be utilised as a potential plant growth enhancer, most attention has been placed on its leaves as a possible biostimulant for enhancing productivity of plants. Little has been reported on moringa seed extract (MSE) as a growth enhancer on medicinal plants. Thus, this study investigated the efficacy of MSE doses (water spray as control, MSE at 2, 4, 6 and 8%) on growth attributes, mineral content and phytochemical compositions of cancer bush plants (Lessertia frutescens L.) grown during the winter–spring and spring–summer seasons of 2021. A gradual increase in growth characteristics, chlorophyll content, phenols and flavonoid contents was recorded in all concentrations of MSE-treated plants compared with controls. Furthermore, all levels of MSE effectively enhanced the concentrations of macronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium as well as micronutrients comprising copper, zinc, iron, manganese and sodium of cancer bush plants relative to untreated plants. Both 6 and 8% MSE concentrations showed high productivity, minerals and phytochemical constituents in cancer bush plants in comparison with 2 and 4% MSE treatments. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrated that, even at low concentrations, MSE can be successfully applied as a biostimulant to improve the growth and biochemical attributes of cancer bush plants.

Water deficit is a main abiotic stress limiting the cultivation of many plants including cancer bush (Sutherlandia frutescens L.), which is a traditional medicinal plant used to treat various diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes and asthma. Natural plant growth hormones are a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic growth regulators for plant production under favourable or adverse conditions. Thus, the current study investigated the biostimulant effect of moringa (Moringa oleifera L.) seed extract (MSE) on physiological and biochemical attributes, including crop water productivity (CWP) of cancer bush grown under deficit irrigation. The 2% MSE was foliar-sprayed to cancer bush plants subjected to full (100% of soil water holding capacity (SWHC)) and deficit irrigation (DI) (80, 60 and 40% of SWHC) in a pots experiment which was conducted and repeated twice consecutively in a tunnel. Plants that were not treated with MSE were considered as control. The results on water-deficit stress showed that the performance of cancer bush was significantly reduced in terms of growth and yield attributes, CWP, as well as physico-biochemical properties. Nevertheless, the foliar application of MSE on water-stressed plants effectively enhanced growth and yield characteristics, CWP, leaf photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll “a”, chlorophyll “b”, total chlorophylls and total carotenoids), antioxidant activity (2′-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azinobis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid), relative water content (RWC) and membrane stability index (MSI) of cancer bush plants compared to respective controls. Therefore, the 2% MSE application was effective in mitigating negative impact of drought stress in cancer bush plants by maintaining higher RWC, MSI, CWP and biochemical attributes.

Aloe greatheadii var. davyana or spotted aloe is indigenous to South Africa and widely distributed in the northern provinces. The plant has a vast ethnopharmacological application which is mostly attributed to its phytochemical content. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of abiotic stress factors on the plants phytochemical content. The phytochemical content of A. greatheadii hexane extracts from four different provinces (Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, and North West), harvested from the wild at varied altitudes, rainfall patterns, and soil types, was examined using gas chromatography-mass spectra (GC-MS). The phytochemical content of hexane extracts from the four South African provinces was analysed using heat map analysis and hierarchical clustering dendrogram. The phytochemical content of A. greatheadii hexane extracts was composed of fatty acids, alkanes, benzene, carboxylic acids, ketones, phytosterols, and vitamins. Eicosane, henicosane, and [(2S)-2-[(2R)-4-hexadecanoyloxy-3-hydroxy-5-oxo-2H-furan-2-yl]-2-hydroxyethyl] hexadecanoate were the only compounds detected in all samples from the four provinces. The concentration levels of 2-(((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)carbonyl) benzoic acid, beta-sitosterol, tritetracontane, and ethyl 13-methyltetradecanoate were closely related and expressed a low clustering distance amongst the samples. Variations in soil pH, soil type, and rainfall patterns were detected and differed in the four provinces. The different abiotic stress factors affected the biochemical pathways for the different compounds, with conditions in Gauteng being less favourable for many of the compounds detected. Abiotic stress factors have shown to influence phytochemical biochemical pathways and quantity. Aloe greatheadii plants can be selected based on location seemingly due to the variations that persist in their phytochemical content.

Plants have long been used as sources of natural compounds with therapeutic benefits, providing molecules capable of inhibiting multiple kinases. Many medicinal plants are recognized for their anticancer properties and may offer ways to mitigate the adverse effects of conventional cancer treatments. In this study, the potential of Ziziphus mucronata methanol extract as a kinase inhibitor was assessed using the MTT assay, a universal kinase assay, and a human phosphokinase antibody array, along with a GC-MS analysis of volatile anticancer compounds. The MTT assay revealed strong cytotoxicity in A549 cells, with an IC₅₀ of 31.25 µg/mL, while HeLa cells showed weaker cytotoxicity with an IC₅₀ of 125 µg/mL. In comparison, paclitaxel exhibited potent inhibitory effects on A549 cells (IC₅₀ of 31.25 µg/mL) and moderate inhibition on HeLa cells (IC₅₀ of 65 µg/mL). Enzyme activity, measured by ADP production in the ADP-Glo assay, indicated that the extract inhibited protein kinase activity in both A549 and HeLa cells after 24 h of treatment. Additionally, the human phosphokinase antibody array, which includes 44 pre-spotted kinases, showed that the extract downregulated multiple phosphorylated kinases in both cell lines. Some of the affected kinases, such as TOR, Fyn, HcK, Fgr, STAT5b, PLC-γ1, p38α, ERK1/2, AMPKA, Akt1/2, GSK-3α/β, MSK1/2, CREB, RSK1/2/3, PLC-γ1, and STAT5a are critical regulators of various cellular processes, including apoptosis, differentiation, and proliferation. The findings of this study suggest that extract from Z. mucronata may have the capacity to regulate protein kinase activity, highlighting their significant potential as growth inhibitors for cancer cells.