Caralluma europaea (Guss.) is an important medicinal plant widely used in Morocco for various traditional purposes. Our work aimed to evaluate the phenolic composition, wound healing, antinociceptive, and anticancer activities of C. europaea extracts. Moreover, this study assessed the beneficial effect of C. europaea phytocompounds on the TRADD, cyclooxegenase-2, Wnt/β-catenin, and tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. The wound healing effect of C. europaea formulations against skin burn was evaluated for 21 days. The cytotoxic effect of the C. europaea extracts was evaluated against human leukemic (K562 and HL60) and liver cancer cell lines (Huh-7) using the MTT test. All the phytoconstituents identified by UHPLC in the polyphenols were docked for their inhibitory power on protein casein kinase-1, glycogen synthase kinase-3-β, cyclooxegenase-2, tyrosine kinase, and TRADD. Luteolin and kaempferol are the main compounds identified in C. europaea polyphenols. The group treated with polyphenols showed the greatest wound contractions and all tested extracts presented a significant antinociceptive effect. Polyphenols showed a remarkable antitumoral activity against the K562, HL60 and Huh-7 cell lines. Saponins exerted an important cytotoxic effect against the Huh-7 cell line, whereas no cytotoxicity was observed for the hydroethanolic and flavonoids extracts. Hesperetin and trimethoxyflavone presented the highest docking G-score on tyrosine kinase and cyclooxygenase, respectively.

Caralluma europaea is a medicinal plant used in Morocco to cure a variety of illnesses. This study was conducted to determine the chemical composition, the antioxidant, antiproliferative, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing activities of C. europaea lipids. The chemical composition of C. europaea was analyzed using time-of-flight mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography. The antioxidant potential was determined using the 2,2-di-phenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests. The antiproliferative effect was evaluated by MTT assay against HL60, K562, Huh-7 cancer cells, and normal Vero cells. The anti-inflammatory potential was conducted against carrageenan-induced paw edema. The wound healing effect was evaluated against skin burns for 21 days. The identified phytochemical compounds were docked for their effect on nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, caspase-3, lipoxygenase, glycogen synthase kinase-3-β, and protein casein kinase-1. The results showed the presence of some lipids, such as linoleic acid and vitamin D3. The DPPH (IC₅₀ = 0.018 mg/mL) and FRAP (EC₅₀ = 0.084 mg/mL) of C. europaea lipids showed an important antioxidant effect. For the anti-inflammatory test, an inhibition of 83.50% was recorded after 6 h of treatment. Our extract showed the greatest wound retraction on the 21st day (98.20%). C. europaea lipids showed a remarkable antitumoral effect against the K562 cell line (IC₅₀ = 37.30 µg/mL), with no effect on Vero cells (IC₅₀ > 100 µg/mL). Lignoceric acid was the most active molecule against caspase-3 (−6.453 kcal/mol). The findings indicate the growing evidence of C. europaea as a potential treatment for several diseases.

Nanocapsules provide selective delivery and increase the bioavailability of bioactive compounds. In this study, we examined the anticancer and immunomodulatory potential of Fridericia chica (crajiru) extract encapsulated in nanocapsules targeting myeloid leukemias. Nanocapsules containing crajiru (nanocapsules-CRJ) were prepared via interfacial polymer deposition and solvent displacement. Size and polydispersity were measured by dynamic light scattering. Biological assays were performed on leukemia cell lines HL60 and K562 and on non-cancerous Vero cells and human PBMC. The anticancer activity was evaluated using cytotoxicity and clonogenic assays, while the immunomodulatory activity was evaluated by measuring the levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in PBMC supernatants treated with concentrations of nanocapsules-CRJ. Nanocapsules-CRJ exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against HL60 and K562 cells at concentrations ranging from 0.75 to 50 μg/mL, with the greatest reductions in cell viability observed at 50 μg/mL (p < 0.001 for HL60; p < 0.01 for K562), while not affecting non-cancerous Vero cells and human PBMCs. At concentrations of 25 μg/mL and 50 μg/mL, nanocapsules-CRJ reduced the formation of HL60 and K562 colonies by more than 90% (p < 0.0001). Additionally, at a concentration of 12 μg/mL, nanocapsules-CRJ induced the production of the cytokines IL-6 (p = 0.0002), IL-10 (p = 0.0005), IL-12 (p = 0.001), and TNF-α (p = 0.005), indicating their immunomodulatory potential. These findings suggest that nanocapsules-CRJ hold promise as a potential therapeutic agent with both cytotoxic and immunomodulatory properties.