Search Results (4)

Medicinal plants provide a wide range of active compounds that can be exploited to create novel medicines with minimal side effects. The current study aimed to identify the anticancer properties of Juniperus procera (J. procera) leaves. Here, we demonstrate that J. procera leaves’ methanolic extract suppresses cancer cells in colon (HCT₁₁₆), liver (HepG2), breast (MCF-7), and erythroid (JK-1) cell lines. By applying GC/MS, we were able to determine the components of the J. procera extract that might contribute to cytotoxicity. Molecular docking modules were created that used active components against cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) in colon cancer, aromatase cytochrome P450 in the breast cancer receptor protein, the -N terminal domain in the erythroid cancer receptor of the erythroid spectrin, and topoisomerase in liver cancer. The results demonstrate that, out of the 12 bioactive compounds generated by GC/MS analysis, the active ingredient 2-imino-6-nitro-2H-1-benzopyran-3-carbothiamide proved to be the best-docked chemical with the chosen proteins impacted by DNA conformational changes, cell membrane integrity, and proliferation in molecular docking studies. Notably, we uncovered the capacity of J. procera to induce apoptosis and inhibit cell growth in the HCT₁₁₆ cell line. Collectively, our data propose that J. procera leaves’ methanolic extract has an anticancer role with the potential to guide future mechanistic studies. Full article

Secondary plant metabolites and their derivatives play a significant role in human health. Ferruginol is a diterpene phenol that has recently received attention for its pharmacological properties, including antibacterial, antitumor, antimalarial, and cardioprotective effects. Recently, we detected the ferruginol compound in the leaf and seed extracts of Juniperus procera using different analytical approaches. The present work aims at detecting phytochemical compounds in a root extract of J. procera and estimating the amount of ferruginol compound in different parts of Juniperus procera. To screen the phytochemical compounds present in the root extract of J. procera, Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was performed. For ferruginol identification and estimation, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with the ferruginol reference standard and high-resolution direct analysis in real-time (DART) time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) (DART-TOF-MS) analysis were used. GC/MS analysis revealed more than 20 bioactive compounds related to secondary plant metabolites in the root extract of J. procera with biological activity. The DART-TOF-MS result showed the typical positive ion spectra of ferruginol, and the HPLC result confirmed that the root extract of J. procera contains the ferruginol compound. In contrast, the root extract of J. procera contained a significant amount of ferruginol compared to that in the leaf and seed extracts. All parts of the J. procera contained the ferruginol compound and proved that ferruginol might be accumulated in the roots, leaves, and seeds of J. procera. Full article

Arabian flora is a rich source of bioactive compounds. In this study, we investigated three aromatic plant species with the aim of finding valuable sources of antimicrobial agents against common pathogenic microorganisms. We focused especially on microorganisms, which cause outbreaks of infectious disease during mass gatherings and pilgrimages season in Saudi Arabia. The essential oils of three aromatic plant species were hydrodistilled from flowering aerial parts of Lavandula pubescens Decne. and Pulicaria incisa subsp. candolleana E.Gamal-Eldin, and from leaves, stems, ripe and unripe fruits of Juniperus procera Hochst. Ex Endl. They were subsequently analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The main constituents of L. pubescens were found to be carvacrol (55.7%), methyl carvacrol (13.4%), and β-bisabolene (9.1%). P. incisa subsp. Candolleana essential oil was rich in linalool (33.0%), chrysanthenone (10.3%), eugenol (8.9%), and cis-chrysanthenol (8.0%); the major components of J. procera essential oil were α-pinene (31.3–62.5%) and δ-3-carene (7.3–30.3%). These essential oils were tested against thirteen American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using the agar diffusion assay. The only effective essential oil was that of L. pubescens and the most sensitive strains were Acinetobacter baumannii, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella sonnei, Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Carvacrol, the major constituent of L. pubescens, was tested on these strains and was compared with vancomycin, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) assays of L. pubescens essential oil and carvacrol revealed that Gram-negative strains were more susceptible than the Gram-positive ones. Full article

The adsorption potential of acid activated carbon prepared from leaves of Juniperus procera to remove Pb(II) and Cr(VI) toxic ions from aqueous solutions was investigated. The effects of solution pH, adsorbent mass, contact time, initial ion concentration and temperature on the biosorption process were studied, and the optimum conditions were determined. Moreover, Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin–Radushkevich adsorption isotherm models were applied to analyze adsorption data. Thermodynamic parameters for the adsorption processes were calculated. Adsorption was found to be a spontaneous and endothermic process. In addition, kinetic studies revealed a pseudo-first order kinetics biosorption process. The obtained results suggest that acid activated Juniperus procera leaves powder can be used as a cheap, efficient and environmentally friendly adsorbent material with high removal efficiency up to 98% for Pb(II) and 96% for Cr(VI) at 0.80 and 1.00 g/100 mL, respectively. The duration of the process was 100 min and 120 min for Pb(II) and Cr(VI) ions, respectively. The morphology of the of prepared activated carbon was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Full article