Egyptian Plants Research Articles

Comparative Study of Antioxidant and Anticancer Activity of Thuja orientalis Growing in Egypt and Saudi Arabia

Cancer is a life threatening diseases, caused by many factors including the oxidative stress. Some medicinal plants are rich with volatile oil represent an important source of antioxidant and anticancer drugs. This study explored the compositions of the essential oils of the flowering aerial parts of Thuja orientalis (cupressaceae) and evaluated antioxidant and cytotoxic activity against different tumors cell lines. The compositions of the essential oils obtained by hydro-distillation of the flowering aerial parts was determined by GC-MS analysis, the antioxidant activities of essential were determined by DPPH radical scavenging method and, In-vtro cytotoxic activities were evaluated against different tumors cell lines, MCF7 (breast carcinoma cell line), PC3 (human prostate carcinoma), HCT116 (human colon carcinoma), A549 (lung carcinoma cell line), and Hep-G2 (liver carcinoma cell line), by the MTT method. The results showed that essential analyzed sample, very rich in Phellandrene, Terpenyl acetat, and β -Caryophyllene with high amounts. The results showed that essential oil extracted from Saudi plant exhibited higher antioxidant activity. Saudi oil extract also possess highest cytotoxic activities against MCF7, followed by, PC3 and, Hep-G2 while the least activity was recorded against lung carcinoma cell line. The highest antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of Thuja plant growing in Saudi Arabia were correlated with its high content of some compounds which are rich in Saudi plant and absence in Egyptian plant. These findings revealed that plant in two regions could be considered as a great potential source for natural health products, where Saudi plant more adapted to drastic condition by accumulation of higher amount of essential oil.

Comparative Analysis of Rutin Content in Some Egyptian Plants: A Validated RP-HPLC-DAD Approach

Comparative Analysis of Rutin Content in Some Egyptian Plants: A Validated RP-HPLC-DAD Approach

In-vitro evaluation of certain Egyptian traditional medicinal plants against Propionibacterium acnes

Many plant species are reported in Egyptian traditional medicine for the treatment of different types of skin infections. The present study was designed to screen the methanolic extracts of twenty five Egyptian plants used in traditional medicine for the treatment of skin infections for their antibacterial activities against Propionibacterium acnes, and to isolate the bioactive compound(s) from the most active extract. The results showed that Myrtus communis, Curcuma longa and Myristica fragrans exhibited inhibition on P. acnes growth in which M. communis demonstrated the highest antibacterial effect with an MIC of 7.8μg/ml. A phytochemical analysis of the extract of M. communis leads to the isolation of eight compounds viz., 5-acetoxy-4-hydroxy-4-isobutyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexan-1,3-dione (1), β-sitosterol (2), isomyrtucommulone-B (3), endoperoxide-G-3-hormone (4), gallic acid (5), myricetin-3-O-α-l-rhamnoside (6), myricetin-3-O-β-d-glucoside (7), and myricetin-3-O-β-d-galactoside-6″-O-gallate (8). Compounds 1 and 3 showed strong inhibition against P. acnes with MIC values of 6.3 and 0.8μg/ml, respectively. This is the first report on the isolation of compound 3 from M. communis and the validation in the use of Egyptian herbal medicines against P. acnes.

Cost Analysis for Biodiesel Production from Waste Cooking Oil Plant in Egypt

The depletion of fossil fuel forces the world to look for alternative ways for energy production. The most common way is the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil. This paper presents a detailed cost analysis for a biodiesel plant with capacity 100,000 ton/year. The cost analysis basis depends on the optimum conditions obtained from the experimental work that achieves biodiesel conversion of ≈ 99%. The study concludes that the project will achieve a good income that around four million US $ every year and the total net income during the life cycle of project is 72.5 million US $. The production cost of one liter biodiesel from used cooking oil is 0.515 $ while the global price of petro-diesel is 0.678 $/ liter and global biodiesel current price is 1 $/liter.

The Protective Effect of Egyptian Withania somnifera Against Alzeheimer’s

Withania somnifera popularly known as ashwaganda or Indian Ginseng is a well known plant in India. Furthermore, it is a common plant in Egypt. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the extracts of different parts of the plant in the protection against oxidative stress and its therapeutic potential in the treatment of Alzheimer’s. All the tested extracts showed significant anticholinesterase activity, with the highest activity produced by the ripe fruit extract, significant nitric oxide scavenging activity, strong haemolysis protection as well as strong antioxidant activity. Unlike the Indian plant that is reputed for the medicinal use of its roots, the results of the present study also suggest that both the fruits and leaves of Egyptian plant have promising activities. Withanolide S isolated from its leaves extract, could be regarded as an interesting drug candidate for treatment of Alzheimer’s as it showed strong in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity with IC50 value of 0.00035 μM, strong haemolysis protection and antiinflammatory activities. Molecular docking studies was carried out in order to explore its exact mechanism of action.

Adulticidal, larvicidal and biochemical properties of essential oils against Culex pipiens L

In this study, the insecticidal properties of sixteen essential oils isolated from Egyptian plants were evaluated against the fourth instar larvae and adults of Culex pipiens L. The inhibitory effects of most active essential oils on the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases) were also tested. In larvicidal assay against Cx. pipiens, the oils of Artemisia monosperma, S. terebinthifolius and Origanum vulgare showed the highest insecticidal activity with LC50 values of 7.73, 8.14 and 8.40mg/l after 24h of treatment and 2.63, 3.46 and 6.74mg/l after 48h of treatment. On the contrary, the oils of Schinus molle and Rosmarinus officinalis were the less effective. The results of fumigant toxicity assay against the adults of Cx. pipiens revealed that the tested oils had remarkable toxicity based on their LC50 values which ranged between 0.06 and 12.84mg/l. The oil of Artemisia judaica was the most active with an estimated LC50 value of 0.06mg/l air after 24h of treatment, while the oil of Citrus paradisi was less active. The essential oils of A. monosperma, O. vulgare, S. terebinthifolius and C. paradisi elicited marked enzymatic inhibition towards AChE and ATPases isolated from Cx. pipiens larvae. These results indicated that the essential oils have potential for the development of natural larvicides and fumigants for Cx. pipiens control.

Effect of Jojoba Seed Extract and Riboflavin in Preventing the Transmission of Iris Yellow Spot Virus (IYSV): Tospovirus by Thrips tabaci L. to Onion Plants in Egypt

Effect of Jojoba Seed Extract and Riboflavin in Preventing the Transmission of Iris Yellow Spot Virus (IYSV): Tospovirus by Thrips tabaci L. to Onion Plants in Egypt

Evaluation of leached metals in recovered aluminum coagulants from water treatment slurry.

The water treatment industry consumes large quantities of coagulant and produces huge amounts of slurry. The cost of alum used in water treatment, stringent regulations and negative impacts of sludge disposal are the motive to do integrated research studies on the technical feasibility of aluminum coagulant recovery from sludge using acidification. This work studied the leaching of iron, manganese, and chromium as the most extracted metals with aluminum during sludge acidification; furthermore, these metals have a great impact on the recovered coagulants' efficiency and treated water quality. The sludge used was collected from El-Sheikh Zayd water treatment plant in Egypt, then dried and ground; afterward, the effect of acid concentration, sludge mass, temperature, mixing speed and mixing time was studied. In addition, it was noticeable that the efficiency of sulfuric acid in leaching iron, manganese and chromium is higher than that of hydrochloric acid. Also, higher leaching for the three metals was obtained in all the experiments using higher acid concentration, elevated temperature, and rotational speed. Finally, the leached metals in recovered aluminum coagulants will not limit its application to water and wastewater treatment, as their concentrations are still very low if compared with aluminum, even with the highest leaching efficiency.

Fingerprinting of Leafhoppers on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Egypt Using ISSRs

Fingerprinting of Leafhoppers on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in Egypt Using ISSRs

Ancient Egyptian plants to tell the story of a civilisation

Ancient Egyptian plants to tell the story of a civilisation

Survey, Seasonal Abundance of Thrips Species and First Record of Two Thrips Species Associated With Soybean and Weed Plants in Egypt

Several thrips species are known to feed on soybean (Glycine max Merr.) and can cause yield reduction. Beside, the other important reason for thrips survey is to determine its role as vectors of Tospovirus in soybean. There is little information available about thrips species present on soybean crop, and their abundance in Egypt. Field survey took place at the farm of Agricultural Experiment Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza Governorate, Egypt (season 2014) to survey the different thrips species. Soybean cv. Giza 111 was sown in late May. The experimental area received all the usual agricultural practices except for any pest control measures. Thrips species associated with soybean were collected and differentiated to species. A total of 16 different thrips species was surveyed. These included 14 phytophagous and 2 predator thrips species. The most abundant species was Thrips tabaci with an average No. 226.2individual/plant, it had two major peaks on soybean, the first peak was at late June (21.9 individual/ plant), while the second one was occurred on mid-August (38 individual/plant). Frankliniella occidentalis occupied the second rank (107.02 individual/plant, Neohydatothrips variabilis came third in that order (57.5 individual/plant) followed by, Caliothrips phaseoli, F. tritici and F. Schultzei ( 42.1 & 43.2, 56.5individual/plant respectively). N. variabilis, Caliothrips phaseoli and F. schultzei werereached their highest numbers (13.2, 19.4 & 16.3 individual/plant) by the end of the season, respectively.Generally speaking, both soybean thrips, N. variabilis and bean thrips, Caliothrips phaseoli, were recorded for the first time in the present study. Characterization and identification of both two species are presented. There were 27 weed plant species collected from soybean field. Both of T. tabaci and F. occidentalis were the most common species of soybeanand associated weeds.The highest average No. of thrips species was recorded on Ammi majus L. (70.7 individual/plant) followed by Medicago intertexta L.,Convolvulus arvensis L., Melilotus indicus L., and Malva parviflora L., which harboured (52.3, 48.8, 44.3 & 44.5 individual/plant, respectively), while the lowest average no. (3.3 individual/plant) was occurred on Urtica urens L. Seasonal abundance of the thrips species associated with weeds, proved that both T. tabaci and F. occidentalis were the most dominant species (36.7 & 17.4 individual/ weed plant, respectively). In conclusion, weeds can serve as reservoir alternative hosts for plant viruses and thrips vectors, therefore should be considered when endeavoring to manage and control plant viruses of cultivated soybean plants.

Origanum syriacum ssp. sinaicum associated Growth Promoting Bacteria

Plant growth promoting bacteria have several applications in agriculture as they could be used as bio-fertilizers and/or bio-control agents. Isolation, characterization and identification of Origanum syriacum ssp. sinaicum associated growth promoting bacteria was the aim of this study as Origanum is one of the most important wild endemic medicinal plants in Egypt. Out of 268 bacterial isolates whether rhizospheric or endophytic obtained firstly, the initial test for the production of gibberellic acid led to a reduction of this number to be 25. The nitrogenase activity was the second potential test by which 4 isolates were finally selected and tested for further plant growth promoting characteristics. 16S rRNA analysis identified two of them to be Serratia sp. (Serratia SK3 and Serratia SK1a) and the other two to be Bacillus sp. (Bacillus SK1 and Bacillus SK2). The current investigation represents four local bacterial strains that could be used to enhance the growth of the commercially grown and widely used Origanum syriacum ssp. sinaicum in Egypt.

Endophytic fungi of some medicinal plants in Egypt

Thirty endophytic fungal species were isolated from eight healthy medicinal plants grown in their natural habitat in Egypt. These plants were basil, green onion, green pepper, mint, roselle, watercress, white radish and tagetes. Isolates were identified on the basis of morphological characteristics into 14 genera namely Acremonium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Cochliobolus, Epicoccum, Fusarium, Geosmithia, Macrophomina, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Scopulariopsis and Trichoderma. Also, a dark septate sterile mycelium isolate belonging to mycelia sterilia group was isolated. These endophytic fungi were evaluated for their biocontrol ability against Fusarium oxysporum the causal agent of wheat root rot disease. Alternaria alternata and Cochliobolus lunatus showed the highest antagonistic activity (71.43 % inhibition value) against the tested Fusarium oxysporum followed by Fusarium oxysporum and Cladosporium cladosporioides with percentages of 68.57 % and 60%, respectively.

Screening Of Egyptian Plants Growing In Upper Egypt As Anticancer Agents

Screening Of Egyptian Plants Growing In Upper Egypt As Anticancer Agents

Comparative cardioprotective effect of Egyptian Silybum marianum extract and Chinese silymarin in experimentally liver fibrosis.

Liver fibrosis is one of the common problems effects on the human health. Many herbal, medicinal and pharmaceutical plants and their extracts are widely studied by many researches. Chinese silymarin got a bright reputation in relieve of liver fibrosis. The current study is a comparative study between the effect of Chinese silymarin (commercial drug) and the extracted silymarin from the natural Egyptian plant on the cardiac toxicity due to liver fibrosis induced by ethanol in rats. A total of 72 female Albino rats were divided into six groups; G1, Control; G2,Fibrosis; G3,Chinese silymarin; G4, Fibrosis + Chinese silymarin; G5, Egyptian silymarin extract; G6, Fibrosis + Egyptian silymarin extract. Results showed that, heart enzymes activities LDH, lipid profiles in serum and MDA in tissues were a significant increase in Fibrosis group when compared with control group. On the other hand; creatine kinase (CK) in serum, total protein, total thiol, TAC, CAT and GST in cardiac tissues were a significant decrease in Fibrosis group when compared with control group. The current results revealed that; the Egyptian plant extract improved the lipid profile, heart functions and its oxidative stress parameters as comparison with the used medical Chinese silymarin.

Air Quality Monitoring Around The First ISCC Power Plant in Egypt

It may be the first study in Egypt and therein lays the importance of carrying out this study to determine the impact of emissions of such type of power stations on ambient air quality. Survey for four pollutants: suspended particulate matter (SPM), inhalable suspended particulate matter (ISPM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), at the ISCC power plant was achieved in the period from April 2009 to March 2012. The annual levels of SPM were 680.4, 546.7, and 466.2 μg m−3 and those of ISPM were 318.3, 239.2, and 175.6 μg m−3 for years 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. The high contribution of SPM and ISPM is due to dust intrusions, besides local sources. Lower ISPM/SPM concentration ratio than 0.5 confirms that desert intrusions are the main source. The annual NO2 levels were 14.2, 17.9, and 19.0 μg m−3 and those of SO2 were 8.1, 10.3, and 8.8 for years 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. These concentrations are very low when compared with the Egyptian and international laws but daily SO2 levels exceed the limit given by WHO. This shows the low impact of studied gaseous pollutants. There is no definite seasonal trend for SPM and ISPM in the first and third year of study while SPM level in the second year was high in spring (March and May) and winter (December to February), whereas ISPM concentration was high in spring only (March and May). Coarse particulate matter is predominant in winter. The variation in NO2 and SO2 concentrations changes from year to year of the studied 3 years. The relatively high SO2/NO x ratios indicate that the point emission sources are predominant. Significant relation of WS with SPM and its nonsignificant relation with ISPM reflect the contribution of desert intrusions. Most of pollutants correlations with studied meteorological factors are nonsignificant, and this confirm that the main sources of pollution are local sources.

Cradle to gate environmental impact assessment of acrylic fiber manufacturing

The aim of the current study was to analyze the impacts of acrylic fiber manufacturing on the environment and to obtain information for assisting decision makers in improving relevant environmental protection measures for green field investments in developing countries especially in Africa and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. The key research questions were as follows: what are the different impacts of acrylic fiber manufacturing on the environment and which base material has the highest impact? The life cycle assessment (LCA) started from obtaining the raw material until the end of the production process (cradle to gate analysis). Focus was given on water consumption, energy utilization in acrylic fiber production, and generated waste from the industry. The input and output data for life cycle inventory was collected from an acrylic fiber manufacturing plant in Egypt. SimaPro software was used to calculate the inventory of twelve impact categories that were taken into consideration, including global warming potential (GWP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), carcinogen potential (CP), ecotoxicity potential (ETP), respiratory inorganic formation potential (RIFP), respiratory organic formation potential (ROFP), radiation potential (RP), ozone layer depletion (OLD), mineral depletion (MD), land use (LU), and fossil fuel depletion (FFD). LCA results of acrylic fiber manufacturing on the environment show that 82.0 % of the impact is on fossil fuel depletion due to the high-energy requirement for acrylonitrile production, 15.9 % of the impact is on human health, and 2.1 % on ecosystem quality. No impacts were detected on radiation potential, ozone layer depletion, land use, mineral depletion, or human respiratory system due to organic substances. Based on these study results, it is concluded that acrylic fiber manufacturing is a high-energy consumption industry with the highest impact to be found on fossil fuel depletion and human health. This study is based on modeling the environmental effects of the production of 1-kg acrylic fiber and can serve to estimate impacts of similar manufacturing facilities and accordingly use these results as an indicator for better decision-making.

Stimulatory Effect of Hormones, Vitamin C on Growth, Yield and Some Metabolic Activities of Chenopodium quinoa Plants in Egypt

This research examine the actual growth, yield and certain metabolic activities of quinoa plants in response to foliar treatments with GA3 50 ppm, JA 20 ppm and Asc. 50 ppm. Plants were grown in natural clay loamy soil conditions and treated with every of the aforementioned treatments. The treated plants showed significant responses in most of the growth and yield characteristics (lengths of shoots and roots, number of branches/plant, number of leaves/ plant, plant biomass and weight of 1000-seed). Also, these treatments caused significant increases in the contents of photosynthetic pigments, soluble carbohydrates, soluble proteins and total phenols content. This was the case during the entire duration of time period of the experiment.

Environmental Hydrogeological Conditions of a Nuclear Power Plant Site in Egypt

The study area is located on the North Western Coast of the Mediterranean Sea which has been selected for establishing a nuclear power plant in Egypt. In this study, the hydrogeological conditions of the site are discussed and evaluated, based on the field survey of soil boring, the piezometers data and the chemical analysis of groundwater samples. The Quaternary aquifer is the main water-bearing layers in the studied area and it is mainly composed of ooltic limestone. Based on the collected geological and hydrogeological data from 18 mointoring wells encountered the Quaternary aquifer with a depth down to 30 m, groundwater fluctuations and groundwater flow maps were constructed. From the records, it is observed that, the groundwater level rises about 2 cm per year. Thus, there is no risk of plant site flooding from increasing groundwater levels, as the thickness of the aeration zone is more than 12 meters. The general groundwater flow in the area of study is from north to south following the main recharge source presneted by the sea water. The depth to water in the area ranges between 2 to 24 meters and it is increasing towards the south. Eighteen water samples are gathered from the available eighteen monitoring wells. The average total salinity ranges from 17193 ppm to 36800 ppm (very saline water) and the pH values vary from 7.5 to 8.5, reflecting slightly alkaline water. The groundwater was classified as mainly saline water, while few samples show a meteoric origin, based on Sulin’s graph. This meteoric water originates from the scares rain events. The evaluation of groundwater shows that, it’s not suitable for irrigation purposes.

Using of Wastewater Dry and Wet Sludge In Concrete Mix

wastewater treatment plants in Egypt, since the amount of sludge produced every year in Egypt are about “4 Million ton “, this amount of sludge is considered a big/dangerous problem which facing Egypt today. Thus, all over the world the researchers are trying to explore a new and suitable way to solve the sludge huge amount which produced from the WWTPs. One track of these solutions is to use sewage sludge in Construction field” concrete mixtures and in manufacturing interlock brick samples’’, evaluated the reuse of sewage sludge from urban wastewater treatment plants in a mixture with cement and to develop new construction materials. According to results findings, no significant strength loss was observed when using the dry or wet sludge with different percentages from the cement weight, in which the strength loss was increased to 63.7% after 7-days and 61.6% after 28-day for dry and for wet 73.4% after 7-days and 68.5% after 28-days when 20% of wet and dry sludge pellets by cement weight was added to concrete mixture. The results showed that the wet sludge retarded the strength development and has more adverse effect on compressive strength than the other dry sludge for the same percentage as the average strength loss after 28-days for wet percentages approximate about 13.76% and for dry sludge approximate about 7.73%. Finally the study concluded that the dry and wet sludge can be used in as an additive to concrete mixtures till 15% form cement weight as one of the available disposal options for Egypt sludge. The study recommended that more researches are needed to evaluate the durability of sludge concrete and the behavior of reinforced sludge concrete.