Date palm fruit seed (Phoenix dactylifera L.) extract (DSE), an under-utilized resource, is a rich source of polyphenols with high potency for disease prevention and antioxidative activities. For the first time, the present study demonstrated that DSE inhibits labile iron activity and DNA and BSA damage and inhibits acetylcholinesterase and tyrosinase activities. Moreover, DSE reduces the proliferation of hepatic, colorectal, and breast cancer cells dose-dependently through apoptotic mechanisms. Furthermore, DSE significantly suppressed the expression of both BCl-2 and P21 genes and increased the P53 expression level when compared with the untreated cells and the 5-FU treated cells. These findings suggest a strong potential for DSE in protecting against the iron-catalyzed ferroptosis that results in programmed cell death. The results also confirm the efficacy of DSE against cancer cells. Therefore, DSE constitutes a valuable candidate for developing functional foods and for natural compound-based chemotherapy for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.

Pomegranate juice concentrate (PJC) is a rich source of polyphenols, which exhibit significant antioxidant activity and potential health benefits for disease prevention and therapy. In this study, the polyphenolic profile of PJC was investigated for the first time, and it was found that PJC can inhibit oxidative damage to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), as well as acetylcholinesterase, α-amylase, and tyrosinase activities. The primary polyphenols identified in PJC were 4-Hydroxy-3-Methoxybenzoate, epicatechin, catechin, rutin, ferulic acid, P-coumaric acid, and cinnamic acid. Additionally, PJC demonstrated potent antibacterial effects against human pathogens such as Streptococcus mutans and Aeromonas hydrophila and dose-dependently reduced the proliferation of colorectal, breast, and hepatic cancer cells via apoptosis. Furthermore, PJC blocked B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCl-2) and the expression of a potent cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (P21) and enhanced tumor protein (P53) expression, compared to both untreated cells and cells treated with fluoropyrimidine 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). As a result, PJC may be a beneficial ingredient in the formulation of emerging natural-compound-based chemotherapy and functional foods and could be utilized by the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries.

Palm fruit pollen extract (PFPE) is a natural source of bioactive polyphenols. The primary aim of the study was to determine the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, enzyme inhibition, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and DNA-protective properties of PFPE and identify and quantify the phenolic compounds present in PFPE. The results demonstrated that PFPE exhibited potent antioxidant activity in various radical-scavenging assays, including (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) (DPPH^•), 2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS^•), nitric oxide (NO), ferric-reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). PFPE also displayed antimicrobial activity against several pathogenic bacteria. Similarly, PFPE reduced acetylcholinesterase, tyrosinase, and α-amylase activities. PFPE has been proven to have an anticancer effect against colon carcinoma (Caco-2), hepatoma (HepG-2), and breast carcinoma (MDA) cancer cells. Apoptosis occurred in PFPE-treated cells in a dose-dependent manner, and cell cycle arrest was observed. Furthermore, in breast cancer cells, PFPE down-regulated Bcl-2 and p21 and up-regulated p53 and Caspase-9. These results show that PFPE constitutes a potential source of polyphenols for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and functional food applications.

Monostyrene (MS) residuals are daily migrating from different polystyrene shaping containers to our foods. In the present study, the distribution, accumulation and clearness rate of MS in different organs were done by one oral gavage of sub-lethal dose of 500 mg/kg bwt in male albino rates. Following MS in kidney, liver and brain indicated that the highest concentration peak was reached after 3 hr. Meanwhile, the maximum and minimum levels were detected in kidney (190.6 µg/100g) and brain (12.8 µg/100g), respectively. After 3 hr of styrene administration, the same decline rate was observed in the three organs. The clearness and metabolites rates of MS after 7 hr of administration were 93%, 76.9% and 71.1% in kidney, liver and brain, respectively. Further, this study investigated the effects of different MS at doses (0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg) on growth performance parameters included weight gain (WG), relative liver weight, food efficiency ratio (FER), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and on oxidative stress biomarker; malondialdehyde (MDA) in the plasma of male and female albino rats after 12 weeks of feeding. All tested MS concentrations showed significant effects (P >0.05) on WG, FER and PER of either male or female rats compared to the control group. All these indices were more pronounced in both male and female that administrated MS at dose of 1.0 mg MS/kg bwt. Only in female, relative liver weight was affected significantly at doses of 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg bwt of MS. Significant differences (P >0.05) were found among the experimental groups in malondialdehyde concentration in plasma of male and female rats; but not in nonlinear behavior. MDA concentration increased significantly (P >0.05) in female plasma compared to male at all tested doses. Styrene concentration in male liver after three months at oral administration of 1 mg/kg was 1.72 µg/100g. It is concluded that MS at tested levels had affected growth performance parameters and led to increase oxidative stress which could have significant health risks. Kidney is the main organ responsible for MS elimination. More precaution should be addressed to food packaging industry to control and monitor MS release from PS food contact materials.

Chemical characteristics and microbiological quality of filtered water generated from municipal water using mono-, di- and penta-stage (5-stage) filters, as well as disposed drain water were investigated. With the application of the household water penta filters, the total dissolved solids (TDS) of the filtered water were highly reduced (0.04–0.07 g/L) and, consequently, electrical conductivity also decreased. Furthermore, total hardness was completely removed (0–2 mg CaCO3/L), as well as the chloride content. In the same manner, the nitrate content in the filtered water resulted from the household water penta filters decreased significantly (0.5–0.9 mg/L). Cations, such as Na+ and K+, in the filtered water were greatly affected and were 18–28 and 2 mg/L, respectively. Filtered water generated from the house-water penta filters was not in compliance with the daily amounts of F, Na and K necessary for teenagers and kids, and it might cause a risk of deficiencies. From the microbiological point of view, the penta-stage filter effectively removed total bacterial counts and total coliforms from water making it completely safe for potable and other domestic uses. The home water mono- and di- filters had low effectiveness of contaminant removal.