Date palm fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) is reputed to have numerous biological activities, including anticancer properties. To utilize the great fortune of this fruit, the current study aimed to maximize its pharmacological activity. Date palm extract (DPE) of Khalas cultivar was obtained in powder form and then was formulated into nanoemulsion (NE). The optimized DPE-NE was formulated along with its naked counterpart followed by studying their physical and chemical properties. A qualitative assessment of total serum protein associated with the surface of formulations was implemented. Studies for the in vitro release of DPE from developed NE before and after incubation with serum were investigated. Eventually, an MTT assay was conducted. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were 22.89 ± 0.013 mg GAE/g of dry DPE and 9.90 ± 0.03 mg QE/g of dry DPE, respectively. Homogenous NE formulations were attained with appropriate particle size and viscosity that could be administered intravenously. The optimized PEGylated NE exhibited a proper particle size, PDI, and zeta potential. Total serum protein adsorbed on PEG-NE surface was significantly low. The release of the drug through in vitro study was effectively extended for 24 h. Ultimately; PEGylated NE of DPE attained significant inhibition for cancer cell viability with IC₅₀ values of 18.6 ± 2.4 and 13.5 ± 1.8 µg/mL for MCF-7 and HepG2 cell lines, respectively. PEGylated NE of DPE of Khalas cultivar will open the gate for future adjuvants for cancer therapy.

Caenorhabditis elegans has been used in research for years to clarify the genetic cascades and molecular mechanisms of aging, longevity, and health span. Health span is closely related to frailty; however, frailty has a different concept and is evaluated using various parameters in humans, such as Fried's Frailty Criteria. The C. elegans model has several advantages when performing a chemical screen to identify drug candidates. Several mouse models of frailty were recently developed, including a homozygous IL-10 knockout. These mouse models are useful for understanding human frailty; however, they are not appropriate for primary drug screening because they require large spaces, expensive cost, and time consuming assessments. Therefore, a combination of these models may be a promising tool for discovering drugs and understanding the mechanisms of frailty. In addition, natural products, and herbs are attractive sources of novel drugs with pharmacological activity and low toxicity, in fact, over 60% of currently-available drugs are estimated to be related to natural compounds. In this review, the possibility of identifying natural agents (i.e., herb extracts and compounds) that could improve frailty are proposed, and the advantages and limitations of these models are also discussed.

Essential oils have been used in various traditional healing systems since ancient times worldwide, due to their diverse biological activities. Several studies have demonstrated their plethora of biological activities—including anti-cancer activity—in a number of cell lines. Anisosciadium lanatum Boiss. is a perennial aromatic herb. Traditionally, it is an edible safe herb with few studies exploring its importance. The current study aims to investigate the chemical composition of essential oil isolated from Anisosciadium lanatum using GC-MS, as well as report its anti-cancer potential and its mechanistic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cell lines, and conduct molecular docking studies. To achieve this, the essential oil was isolated using a Clevenger apparatus and analyzed using GC-MS. The cell viability of HepG2 liver cancer and normal fibroblast NIH-3T3 cell lines was assessed by MTT cytotoxicity assay. The effects of the essential oil on cell migration and invasion were assessed using wound healing and matrigel assays, respectively. The effect of the essential oil on migration and apoptotic-regulating mRNA and proteins was quantified using quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot techniques, respectively. Finally, computational docking tools were used to analyze in silico binding of major constituents from the essential oil against apoptotic and migration markers. A total of 38 components were identified and quantified. The essential oil demonstrated regulation of cell proliferation and cell viability in HepG2 liver cancer cells at a sub-lethal dose of 10 to 25 μg/mL, and expressed reductions of migration and invasion. The treatment with essential oil indicated mitigation of cancer activity by aborting the mRNA of pro-apoptotic markers such as BCL-2, CASPASE-3, CYP-1A1, and NFκB. The algorithm-based binding studies demonstrated that eucalyptol, nerol, camphor, and linalool have potent binding towards the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2. On the other hand, camphor and eucalyptol showed potent binding towards the pro-apoptotic protein CASPASE-3. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the essential oil isolated from Anisosciadium lanatum to drive alleviation of HepG2 cancer cell progression by modulating apoptotic markers. Our findings suggest that Anisosciadium lanatum could be used as a phytotherapeutic anti-cancer agent, acting through the regulation of apoptotic markers. More well-designed in vivo trials are needed in order to verify the obtained results.

Three new compounds were isolated from a MeOH extract of the leaves of Syzygium samarangense, one new cyanogenic glucoside, taxiphyllin 6'-O-gallate (1), one new megastigmane glucoside, actinidioionoside 6'-O-gallate (2), and one new sulfated flavonoid rhamnoside, myricetrin 2″-O-sulfate (3), together with 14 known compounds, lupeol (4), demethoxymatteucinol (5), cryptostrobin (6), betulinic acid (7), β-sitosterol glucoside (8), 2R-prunasin (9), myrciaphenone A (10), 1-feruloyl-β-D-glucopyranoside (11), (3S,5R,6R,7E,9S)-3,5,6,9-tetrahydroxymegastigman-7-ene (12), guaijaverin (13), myricetin 4'-methyl ether 3-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (14), myricetrin (15), gallic acid (16) and actinidioionoside (17). The structures of the new compounds were determined through a combination of spectroscopic, HPLC and chemical analyses.