The variation in habitat has a direct effect on the plants and as a consequence, changes their content of the bioactive constituents and biological activities. The present study aimed to explore the variation in the essential oils (EOs) and phenolics of Heliotropium curassavicum collected from the coastal and inland habitats. Additionally, we determined their antioxidant and allelopathic activity against the weed, Chenopodium murale. Fifty-six compounds were identified as overall from EOs, from which 25 components were identified from the coastal sample, and 52 from the inland one. Sesquiterpenes were the main class in both samples (81.67% and 79.28%), while mono (3.99% and 7.21%) and diterpenes (2.9% and 1.77%) represented minors, respectively. Hexahydrofarnesyl acetone, (-)-caryophyllene oxide, farnesyl acetone, humulene oxide, farnesyl acetone C, and nerolidol epoxy acetate were identified as major compounds. The HPLC analysis of MeOH extracts of the two samples showed that chlorogenic acid, rutin, and propyl gallate are major compounds in the coastal sample, while vanilin, quercetin, and 4′,7-dihydroxyisoflavone are majors in the inland one. The EOs showed considerable phytotoxicity against C. murale with IC₅₀ value of 2.66, 0.59, and 0.70 mg mL⁻¹ for germination, root, and shoot growth, respectively from the inland sample. While the coastal sample attained the IC₅₀ values of 1.58, 0.45, and 0.66 mg mL⁻¹. MeOH extracts revealed stronger antioxidant activity compared to the EOs. Based on IC₅₀ values, the ascorbic acid revealed 3-fold of the antioxidant compared to the EO of the coastal sample and 4-fold regarding the inland sample. However, the ascorbic acid showed 3-fold of the antioxidant activity of the MeOH extracts of coastal and inland samples. Although H. curassavicum is considered as a noxious, invasive plant, the present study revealed that EO and MeOH extracts of the H. curassavicum could be considered as promising, eco-friendly, natural resources for antioxidants as well as weed control, particularly against the weed, C. murale.

Environmental pollution is the most serious problem that affects crop productivity worldwide. Pisum sativum is a leguminous plant that is cultivated on a large scale in the Nile Delta of Egypt as a winter crop, and many of the cultivated fields irrigated with drainage water that contained many pollutants including heavy metals. The present research aimed to investigate the impact of Cd and Ni on the biochemical and physiological processes in P. sativum and evaluate the potential alleviation of their toxicity by 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA). Seedlings of P. sativum were grown in Hoagland solution treated with CdCl₂ or NiCl₂ for 72 h in the growth chamber. Hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione, proline, phenolics, antioxidant enzymes, as well as Cd and Ni concentrations were measured at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 h. An experiment of alleviation was conducted where ALA was added to the growth solution at a concentration of 200 µM coupled with 100 µM of either CdCl₂ or NiCl₂. Hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, reduced glutathione, oxidized glutathione, proline, and phenolics were induced due to the toxicity of Cd and Ni. The activities of antioxidant enzymes [NADH-oxidase (EC: 1.6.3.1), ascorbate peroxidase (EC: 1.11.1.11), glutathione reductase (EC: 1.6.4.2), superoxide dismutase (EC: 1.15.1.1), and catalase (EC: 1.11.1.6)] were induced under the treatments of both metals. On the other hand, the soluble protein decreased gradually depending upon the time of exposure to the heavy metals. The concentration of Cd and Ni in the leaves treated plants increased in time of exposure dependent manner, while their contents remained within the acceptable limits. The addition of ALA decreased the oxidative stress in treated P. sativum plants. The results revealed the significance of using ALA in the cultivation of P. sativum might improve its tolerance against heavy metal stress.

The El-Salam canal in Egypt is considered an important stream of fresh water for the agricultural sector that extends from the Nile River to Sinai, while it is subjected to several anthropogenic stresses. In this study, five-georeferenced stations (named from S1 to S5) were monitored along the El-Salam Canal before El-Sahara of the Suez Canal, via the estimation of the WQ index based on major cations and anions analysis including salinity hazard, permeability index, residual sodium carbonate, magnesium hazard, sodium percentage, sodium adsorption ratio, Kelley index, potential salinity, total hardness, and irrigation water quality index (IWQI). The sequence of average concentration of cations in water were Na⁺ > Ca²⁺ > Mg²⁺ > K⁺. The major cations constitute around 60% of the total dissolved salts. While the sequence of major anions in water were SO₄²⁻ > HCO₃⁻ > Cl⁻ > CO₃²⁻. These cations and anions showed an increasing trend from S1 (intake of the canal) to S5 (before El-Sahara) of the El-Salam Canal. Moreover, the order of heavy metals was Zn < Cd < Cr < Ni < Fe < Mn < Co < Cu < Pb. According to the US EPA (1999) guidelines, the levels of Fe and Zn in the El-Salam Canal are within the permissible limits for drinking and irrigation purposes, while Mn, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni, Cr, and Cd were detected at higher concentrations than those recommended. The value of IWQI in water samples varied from 40.26 to 114.82. The samples of S1 showed good water, the samples of region S2 (after mixing with Faraskour drainage) showed poor water quality, samples of regions S3 (after mixing with the El-Serw drain waters) and S5 (before El-Sahara) fell under the very poor water category and samples of region S4 (after mixing with the Hadous drainage) showed unsuitable water. Croplands irrigated with such water will not be exposed to any alkaline risks but will be exposed to the risk of salinity, which is more severe after mixing at the S3 and S4 sites. It is recommended to treat the drainage water before mixing with the irrigation water of El-Salam Canal to raise the suitability of irrigation water for crops, particularly for the Hadous drain.

The integration of green natural chemical resources in agricultural, industrial, and pharmaceutical applications allures researchers and scientistic worldwide. Cleome amblyocarpa has been reported as an important medicinal plant. However, its essential oil (EO) has not been well studied; therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of the C. amblyocarpa, collected from Egypt, and assess the allelopathic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities of its EO. The EO of C. amblyocarpa was extracted by hydrodistillation and characterized via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The chemometric analysis of the EO composition of the present studied ecospecies and the other reported ecospecies was studied. The allelopathic activity of the EO was evaluated against the weed Dactyloctenium aegyptium. Additionally, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were determined. Forty-eight compounds, with a prespondence of sesquiterpenes, were recorded. The major compounds were caryophyllene oxide (36.01%), hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (7.92%), alloaromadendrene epoxide (6.17%), myrtenyl acetate (5.73%), isoshyobunone (4.52%), shyobunol (4.19%), and trans-caryophyllene (3.45%). The chemometric analysis revealed inconsistency in the EO composition among various studied ecospecies, where it could be ascribed to the environmental and climatic conditions. The EO showed substantial allelopathic inhibitory activity against the germination, seedling root, and shoot growth of D. aegyptium, with IC₅₀ values of 54.78, 57.10, and 74.07 mg L⁻¹. Additionally, the EO showed strong antioxidant potentiality based on the IC₅₀ values of 4.52 mg mL⁻¹ compared to 2.11 mg mL⁻¹ of the ascorbic acid as standard. Moreover, this oil showed significant anti-inflammation via the suppression of lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygenases (COX1, and COX2), along with membrane stabilization. Further study is recommended for analysis of the activity of pure authentic materials of the major compounds either singularly or in combination, as well as for evaluation of their mechanism(s) and modes of action as antioxidants or allelochemicals.

Cyperus has been commonly used as a multi-use medicinal plant in folk medicine worldwide. The objectives of our study were to determine the different metabolites in the Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb. methanol extract, and to assess its in vivo gastroprotective effect in ethanol-induced gastric ulcer model in rats. Serum levels of galactin-3 and TNF-α were employed as biochemical markers. To pinpoint for active agents, comprehensive metabolites profiling of extract via UPLC-qTOF-MS/MS was employed. A total of 77 chromatographic peaks were detected, of which 70 were annotated. The detected metabolites were categorized into phenolic acids and their derivatives, flavonoids, stilbenes, aurones, quinones, terpenes, and steroids. Rats were divided into six groups; healthy control, ulcer control, standard drug group, and 25, 50, 100 mg/kg of C. conglomeratus treated rats. Pre-treatment with C. conglomeratus alcohol extract significantly reduced galactin-3, and TNF-α in ethanol-induced ulcer model at 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg. Further histopathological and histochemical studies revealed moderate erosion of superficial epithelium, few infiltrated inflammatory cells, and depletion of gastric tissue glycoprotein in the ulcer group. Treatment with the extract protected the gastric epithelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. It could be concluded that C. conglomeratus extract provides significant gastroprotective activity in ethanol-induced gastric ulcer and ought to be included in nutraceuticals in the future for ulcer treatment.