Extracts from Piptadeniastrum africanum Brenan (Mimosaceae), Petersianthus macrocarpus (Breauv) L. (Lecydaceae), Cissus debilis Planch (Vitaceae) and Dieffenbachia seguine Jacq. (Araceae) were tested in vitro for their antiproliferative activity on human colon cancer cell line (CaCo-2). The highest antiproliferative activities were obtained with the alcoholic extracts of the roots of Piptadeniastrum africanum (G-PAR), the leaves of Petersianthus macrocarpus (G-PMF) and the stem of Cissus debilis (G-CDL), with 50% inhibition concentrations (IC50) of 15 μg/ml, 17 μg/ml and 25 μg/ml respectively. Only one extract (leaves of Dieffenbachia seguine (G-DSF)) exhibited weak antiproliferative activity with 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) higher than 50 μg/ml. Keywords: Cissus debilis; Dieffenbachia seguine; Petersianthus macrocarpus; Piptadeniastrum africanum; antiproliferative activity; CaCo-2 cells.

The phytochemical investigation of the dichloromethane/methanol (1:1) extract of the stem bark of Scyphocephalium ochocoa, led to the isolation of one new dibenzofuran derivative, named scyphocephalione A (1), along with three other compounds, including epicatechin (2), gentisic acid (3) and myo-inositol (4). The structures of all the compounds were established with help of spectroscopic data including IR, UV, MS, 1 D- and 2 D-NMR, as well as by comparison with previously reported data in literature, and chemical modification. All the compounds were obtained from the genus Scyphocephalium for the first time. The anti-inflammatory activity (using chemiluminescence technique) of the crude extract and compound 1, together with NO inhibition (using ELISA), TNF-α (using ELISA) and MCF-7 cells cytotoxicity effects (using MTT assay) of compound 1 were assessed. From the results obtained, compound 1 could be considered as a promising chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Dynamic adsorption experiments on fixed-bed columns and adsorption kinetics studies of Cu ²⁺ in aqueous media, under various experimental conditions, were carried out on activated carbon (AC) prepared using coconut shells from Franceville (Gabon). Results of dynamic adsorption experiments showed that particle size ( x ) of the column bed, flow rate ( D ) and bed height ( h ) influence adsorption capacities at saturation ( Q _sat ) and removal percentages ( E ) of Cu ²⁺ on the prepared AC. The best Q _sat and E (52.52 mg/g and 55.02%, respectively) were obtained with 0.01 < x < 0.04 mm, D = 2 mL/min, and h = 3 cm, with Cu ²⁺ concentration and pH constant at 250 mg/L and 6.5, respectively. The adsorption kinetic studies indicated that the Thomas model and pseudo-first-order kinetic model best describe the adsorption mechanisms of Cu ²⁺ in our experimental conditions. On the other hand, in addition to reversible interactions (physisorption), it appeared that irreversible reactions (chemisorption) also took place on the surface of the adsorbent. Results obtained from the intraparticle kinetics model study indicated that intraparticle diffusion is not the limiting step in Cu ²⁺ adsorption and that surface adsorption plays a predominant role.