Egyptian Plants Research Articles

Compositional Analysis and in vitro Protective Activity against Oxidative Stress of Essential Oils from Egyptian Plants Used in Traditional Medicine

The Sinai desert in Egypt contains great variability in plants extensively used for traditional medicines such as Achillea fragrantissima, Chiliadenus montanus, Mentha longifolia and Haplophyllum tuberculatum. The essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts have been analyzed. Subsequently, their potential protective activity against oxidative stress has been evaluated, employing H2O2 as oxidant inductor and astrocytes as the cell model. The chemical composition of the essential oils was analyzed by GC/MS. Most of the compounds identified in A. fragrantissima and M. longifolia samples were oxygenated monoterpene derivatives, whereas for H. tuberculatum they were monoterpenes hydrocarbons and oxygenated compounds, and for C. montanus oxygenated monoterpenes and oxygenated sesquiterpenes predominated. The in vitro evaluation of antioxidant properties, using ORAC assay, revealed that M. longifolia essential oil possessed the highest scavenging activity against peroxyl radicals, following by H. tuberculatum, A. fragrantissima and C. montanus. Under oxidative stress conditions, M. longifolia and H. tuberculatum essential oils were the only ones that protected human astrocytoma U373-MG cells against H2O2 damage. Both essential oils prevented cell death and inhibited ROS production caused by H2O2. M. longifolia essential oil was the most active, suggesting an interesting prevention role in those CNS disorders associated with oxidative stress.

Financial analysis of NF membranes for upgrading municipal wastewater treatment

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes represent state-of-the-art membrane processes with numerous significant applications. In this paper, worldwide reported financial data on capital, operating (O&M) and unit costs were gathered, screened, and analyzed. New cost functions have been developed incorporating plant capacity and NF recovery. Further, software (NFSTP) was developed for performance and cost evaluation from the verified models. Analysis of the data represented by NF cost models indicate that the unit cost of NF treatment for secondary treated wastewater decreases by about 11%, when plant capacity is doubled from 50,000 to 100,000 m3/d for the same recovery. Moreover, the change in recovery above 70% would not significantly affect the capital, O&M, and unit costs. Application of NF system to the case of El-Gabal El-Asfar municipal wastewater treatment plant in Egypt using the developed software (NFSTP) indicates a unit cost of 0.253 $/m3 for an operational module of 100,000 m3/d.

Antileukemic and cytoxic screening for some endophytic fungi isolated from Egyptian plants

Antileukemic and cytoxic screening for some endophytic fungi isolated from Egyptian plants

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Metals in agricultural soils and plants in Egypt

Since analysis of both soil and plants are useful to assess contamination of a geographic area, concentrations of five representative metals: copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe) in soil and associated plants were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Samples were collected from four different Egyptian regions (El-mehala El-kobra, Kafr El-Sheikh, Kafr El-zayat, and Al-fayoum) during spring and summer 2010. Concentrations of the selected metals in agricultural soils were significantly different among locations and seasons. Concentrations of Cd and Fe in soils at the four locations exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations for Cd (8 mg/kg, dry mass (dm)) and Fe (1000 mg/kg, dm). Accumulation was different for clover and cotton. Clover blossoms grown in soil from Kafr El-zayat contained the greatest concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Fe. Cotton flowers from El-mehala El-kobra accumulated the highest levels of Cd. Concentrations of Cd and Pb in both clover and cotton flowers from the four locations exceeded maximum allowable concentrations (3 mg/kg, dm) for both Cd and Pb. Using such agricultural soils for cultivation of edible crops for consumption may result in chronic hazards to human health.

Indoor radon concentration measurements at the site of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt

Radon (222 Rn) is a radioactive gas that occurs naturally when uranium in soil and rock breaks down. Long-term exposure to 222 Rn increases the risk of lung cancer. The principal objective of this work was to determine the 222 Rn activity concentration in an indoor air environment at the El-Dabaa site proposed for a nuclear power plant project in Egypt using the track etch technique with LR115 detectors. The annual average indoor 222 Rn activity concentration in apartment buildings varies from 24 to 77 Bq.m-3 , with a mean value of 54 Bq.m-3 . The annual effective dose received by residents of the studied area was estimated to be 0.41 mSv. The annual estimated effective dose is less than the recommended action level by ICRP (3−10 mSv.y-1 ). The results from this work provide a radiological assessment program and update the background of the natural radioactivity map at the El-Dabaa site.

Herding cats – Roman to Late Antique glass groups from Bubastis, northern Egypt

Eighty-seven glass fragments from Roman and Late Antique layers at Tell Basta/Bubastis in the Eastern Nile Delta were typologically evaluated and chemically analysed to determine chronological and compositional patterns of glass use at this important Egyptian city, and how this relates to larger pattern of glass production and consumption in the first half of the first millennium AD. Bubastis is situated in geographical proximity to Alexandria, an important seaport, and at the same time close to the raw glass production areas in the Wadi Natrun and Sinai peninsula. This paper reports the first substantial set of compositional data of Roman to Late Antique glass from a settlement in northern Egypt, filling an important gap in our knowledge of glass consumption pattern in the first half of the first millennium AD. The glass from Bubastis falls into several compositional groups known already from elsewhere in the Roman and Late Antique world, including antimony- and manganese-decoloured glass and two varieties of HIMT glass. Changes in glass composition over more than 500 years are in line with earlier observations concerning changes in prevalence of these glass groups. However, compositional groups known to dominate archaeological glass assemblages elsewhere, such as Roman blue/green during the earlier part of the period under study, or Levantine I in the later period, are notably absent. For the later period, this is probably due to the proximity of Tell Basta to the suspected production region of HIMT glass in northern Sinai/Egypt. By analogy, this might indicate that the earlier Roman blue/green glass has a production origin further away from the Delta than the decolourised glasses prevailing in Bubastis. A particular vessel type, small-volume thick-walled dark green unguentaria, is made of probably Egyptian plant ash glass, indicating the existence of a specialised glassmaker during the early first millennium AD.

Non-alkaloidal compounds from the bulbs of the Egyptian plant Pancratium maritimum.

Phytochemical investigation of the cytotoxic fractions of fresh bulbs of Pancratium maritimum L. led to the isolation and structure identification of two new compounds, pancricin (1) and pancrichromone (4), together with four known compounds, including 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-3-methyl acetophenone (2), 5-formylfurfuryl acetate (3), 7-beta-D-glucosyloxy-5-hydroxy-2-methylchromone (5), and ethyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (6). Their structures were established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C, COSY, HSQC, and HMBC), as well as HR mass spectral analyses. The compounds were evaluated for their antimigratory and antiproliferative activities against the highly metastatic human prostate cancer cell line (PC-3M). Compound 5 was the most active compound displaying good activity in the proliferation assay comparable to that of the positive control 4-hydroxyphenylmethylene hydantoin, while it displayed only weak antimigratory activity compared to the positive control 4-ethylmercaptophenylmethylene hydantoin.

Phenolic content of some selected Lamiaceous Egyptian medicinal plants: antioxidant potential and ecological friend mosquito-larvicldal.

Phenol compounds are naturally occurring biologically active compounds existing in all plants had received major medical concern so development in research focused on their extraction, identification and quantification have occurred over the last 25 years; they constitute an important source of antioxidants and were used to help human body to reduce oxidative damage. Mosquitos-borne diseases constitute one of the major health problems worldwide. Control strategies involving pinpointing natural ecological friend, cheap and safe mosquitocides, mainly larvicides to stop their life cycle. Quantitative estimation of total phenol, flavonoids, phenylethanoid and iridoid contents of sixteen selected Lamiaceous Egyptian plants for screening of their antioxidant and mosquito larvicidal effects was carried out. The results showed that the most suitable medicinal plants used as antioxidants were Lavendula dentata L., Thymus capitatus L. and Thymus bovei Benth., which contain adequate mixture of total phenol, flavonoid and phenylethanoid contents, with distinct larvicidal effect in a descending order was T. capitatus L., T. bovei Benth. and L. dentata L. by their adequate mixture of total phenol, flavonoid, iridoid and phenylethanoid glycoside content.

EFFECT OF GROWING MEDIA, ORGANIC FERTILIZATION AND BIOSTIMULANTS ON THE PRODUCTION OF GLADIOLUS (CV. NOVALUX) CORMS FROM CORMLETS

In a trial to solve one of the most important problems faced the production of Gladiolus plant in Egypt, i. e. the deterioration of corms production year after year. Therefore, they are annually imported from Netherlands. But in view of the rising prices of corms in recent years, studying the factors that may help to produce the corms locally is very necessary. So, the experimental trial was performed during two successive seasons (2011/2012 and 2012/2013) at the nursery of Horticulture Research Institute, Giza, Egypt. It intended to investigate the independent as well as the combined effects of different growing media (sand, sand/compost (1:1 v/v); sand/sewage sludge (3:1 v/v) and organic fertilization (actosol) and biostimulants (garlic and yeast extracts) on the production of Gladiolus corms from cormlets (cv. Novalux) locally. The results indicated that sand/compost (1:1 v/v) medium proved its mastery for increasing corms yield (No. of corms/experimental unit), corm fresh and dry weights, corm circumference, root length of the new formed corms, cormlets yield and cormlet fresh and dry weights. Using sand medium in plantation occupied the second rank in improving such parameters in both seasons. Meanwhile, slight effects were obtained on the same parameters due to using sand/sewage sludge medium in plantation. Chemical constituents of the new formed corms indicated also the prevalence of using sand/compost medium in raising N, P, K and total carbohydrates %. Actosol treatment proved its superiority in increasing both corms yield and quality in both seasons. Meanwhile, applying garlic extract occupied the second rank in improving the same traits with significant effect comparing with control in most cases. However, using yeast extract slightly improved these parameters and achieved the third position. Results, also showed the prevalence of treating plants with actosol for increasing cormlets yield (No. of cormlets/experimental unit) whereas, garlic extract achieved the second position for elevating the same parameter. Meanwhile, yeast application recorded the least effect in improving such trait. In the same time, either organic fertilization (actosol) or biostimulants (garlic and yeast) slightly improved cormletfresh and dry weights, with insignificant effect in most cases. Also, the previous treatments showed slight increments on N, P, K and total carbohydrates % in new formed corms, where actosol was the best in this respect.Form the aforementioned results and interactions it could be recommended to grow Gladiolus (cv. Novalux) cormlets in sand/compost (1:1 v/v) medium and treating plants with organic fertilization (actosol) for producing the best corms and cormlets yield and quality.

Antihyperglycemic Effect of Crude Extracts of Some Egyptian Plants and Algae

Diabetes mellitus is a major global health problem. Various plant extracts have proven antidiabetic activity and are considered as promising substitution for antidiabetic drugs. The antihyperglycemic effect of 16 plants and 4 algae, commonly used in Egypt for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, was investigated. A diabetes model was induced by intraperitoneal injection of nicotinamide (120 mg/kg body weight [b.wt.]), then streptozotocin (200 mg/kg b.wt.) after 15 min. Hydroethanolic extracts (80%) of the plants and algae under investigation were prepared. The extracts were orally administered to nicotinamide-streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice by a gastric tube at doses 10 or 50 mg/kg b.wt. for 1 week. The antidiabetic activity was assessed by detection of serum glucose concentrations at the fasting state and after 2 h of oral glucose loading (4.2 mg/kg b.wt.). Extracts prepared from Cassia acutifolia, Fraxinus ornus, Salix aegyptiaca, Cichorium intybus, and Eucalyptus globulus showed the highest antihyperglycemic activity among the tested plants. Extracts prepared from Sonchus oleraceus, Bougainvillea spectabilis (leaves), Plantago psyllium (seeds), Morus nigra (leaves), and Serena repens (fruits) were found to have antihyperglycemic potentials. Extracts prepared from Caulerpa lentillifera and Spirulina versicolor showed the most potent antihyperglycemic activity among the tested algae. However, some of the tested plants have insulinotropic effects, all assessed algae have not. Identification of lead compounds from these plants and algae for novel antidiabetic drug development is recommended.

Spatial distribution and soil characteristics of the vegetation associated with common succulent plants in Egypt

The most succulent species-rich family in Egypt is Chenopodiaceae, followed by Aizoaceae and then Zygophyllaceae, Crassulaceae, and Orobanchaceae. The Sinai Peninsula and the Mediterranean regions include most of these succulent species, at 73.2% and 53.7%, respectively. A floristic data matrix (59 stands and 137 species) was subjected to classification by 2-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN). This yielded 8 vegetation groups. The most prominent groups were the Mesembryanthemum crystallinum-Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum group, the Anabasis articulata group, the Zygophyllum coccineum-Zilla spinosa group, and the Zygophyllum album group. The vegetation associated with the 5 most common succulent plants was analyzed, and variations in floristic composition were described. Sixteen soil physical and chemical parameters from stands dominated by each of the studied succulent plants were analyzed. This investigation demonstrated the role of 12 soil factors in affecting the distribution of the 5 studied succulent plants: electric conductivity, pH, bicarbonates, sulfates, CaCO_{3}^{++}, Ca^{++}, Mg^{++}, K^+, Na^+, Cl^-, silt, and sand. The application of canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the distribution of Arthrocnemum macrostachyum was affected by Mg and electric conductivity; Zygophyllum album was affected by SO_{4}^{++}, electric conductivity, and Ca^{++}; and Anabasis articulata, Haloxylon salicornicum, and Zygophyllum coccineum were highly affected by percentages of sand and clay and values of CaCO_3, total mineral nitrogen, and pH.

Cross Sectional Study of Skin Carriage and Enterotoxigenicity of Staphylococcus aureus among Food Handlers

The prevalence of enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus was investigated among 200 participants working in three different food processing plants in Egypt. Using skin swabs, 75 (38%) of the 200 tested persons were positive for the presence of S. aureus. Of the S. aureus positive persons, 28 (14%) harboured S. aureus produced staphylococcal enterotoxins. The serotypes of these enterotoxins were enterotoxin A (68%), enterotoxin B (36%), enterotoxin C (46%) and enterotoxin D (18%). Some of these isolates produced more than one type of enterotoxins namely AB, AC, BC, BD, ABC and ACD. Analysis of risk factors implicated in skin carriage of S. aureus as age, gender, marital status, education, duration in employment, frequency and method of hand wash and incidence of chronic skin infection revealed insignificant association with staphylococcal skin carriage. The obtained results put forth the risk of food contracting contamination with enterotoxigenic strains of S. aureus owing to skin colonization of S. aureus among food handlers.

First Record of Black Dot Disease Caused by Colletotrichum coccodes on Potato Plants in Egypt

First Record of Black Dot Disease Caused by Colletotrichum coccodes on Potato Plants in Egypt

Composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oils isolated from Egyptian plants against plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi

The essential oils of eighteen Egyptian plants, namely, Artemisia judaica, A. monosperma, Callistemon viminals, Citrus aurantifolia, C. lemon, C. paradisi, C. sinensis, Cupressus macrocarpa, C. sempervirens, Myrtus communis, Origanum vulgare, Pelargonium graveolens, Rosmarinus officinalis, Syzygium cumini, Schinus molle, S. terebinthifolius, Thuja occidentalis and Vitex agnus-castus, were isolated by hydrodistillation. The chemical composition of the isolated oils was identified by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). The major constituents of the isolated oils were limonene (40.19%, 56.30%, 74.29% and 89.23% in C. aurantifolia, C. lemon, Citrus paradise and C. sinensis, respectively), α-pinene (37.88%, 35.49%, 26.16% and 17.26% in C. sempervirens, T. occidentalis, M. communis and S. cumini, respectively), 1,8-cineole (71.77% and 19.60% in C. viminals and R. officinalis), pulegone (77.45% in O. vulgare), β-thujone (49.83% in A. judaica), capillene (36.86% in A. monosperma), sabinene (14.93% in S. terebinthifolius), α-phellandrene (29.87% in S. molle), 4-terpeneol (20.29% in C. macrocarpa), trans-caryophyllene (15.19% in V. agnus-castus) and β-citronellol (35.92 in P. graveolens). The isolated oils were tested for their antimicrobial activity against the most economic plant pathogenic bacteria of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Erwinia carotovora var. carotovora, and fungi of Alternaria alternata, Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium solani. The isolated oils showed variable degree of antibacteabril activity against A. tumefaciens and E. carotovora var. carotovora. Based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values, the oils were more effective against E. carotovora var. carotovora than A. tumefaciens. The oil of T. occidentalis revealed the highest antibacterial activity among the tested oils showing the lowest MIC values of 400 and 350mg/L, on A. tumefaciens and E. carotovora var. carotovora, respectively. In mycelial growth inhibition assay, most of the essential oils showed pronounced effect and the oil of A. monosperma was the most potent inhibitor with EC50=54, 111, 106 and 148mg/L against A. alternata, B. cinerea, F. oxysporum and F. solani, respectively. On the other hand, the oils caused strong reduction in spore germination of fungi compared with control. The oils of A. judaica and A. monosperma caused the highest spore germination inhibition of F. oxysporum and their EC50 values were 69 and 62mg/L, respectively. Among the tested fungi, F. oxysporum was the most susceptible fungus to all of the tested oil except the oil of S. molle. The relationship between the antimicrobial activity and the chemical composition of the isolated oils was disclosed. The findings of the present study suggest that the isolated oils have a potential to be used as antimicrobial agents.

In vitro Antimicrobial Activities of Some Egyptian Plants’ Essential Oils with Medicinal Applications

In vitro Antimicrobial Activities of Some Egyptian Plants’ Essential Oils with Medicinal Applications

Power generation using waste heat recovery by organic Rankine cycle in oil and gas sector in Egypt: A case study

ORC (organic Rankine cycle) is a promising technology for conversion of heat into useful work. This study utilizes the ORC in an existing gas treatment plant in Egypt, as a case study, to recover the waste heat and convert it into electricity. A simulation model using Aspen HYSYS v7.1 has been built up for the case study. Two different cycles, the basic and the regenerative cycles, have been studied. Various working fluids have been investigated using different parameters such as net work produced, efficiency, volumetric flow rate and the irreversibility. To be more confident about the best working fluid, a capital cost and profitability analysis has been performed for the most two promising working fluids. The simulation has shown that regenerative cycle using either benzene or cyclohexane is the most promising choice. However, the capital cost and profitability study has shown that benzene is more suitable as working fluid than cyclohexane. Finally, an optimization study on the parameters indicates that the turbo expander inlet pressure of 4.1 MPa and temperature of 290 °C–300 °C are the most appropriate working conditions.

Antifungal activity of essential oils isolated from Egyptian plants against wood decay fungi

The essential oils of eighteen Egyptian plants were extracted by hydrodistillation and their chemical compositions were analyzed by GC-MS. The antifungal activity of the isolated oils was evaluated against two wood decay fungi Hexagonia apiaria and Ganoderma lucidum in vitro. The essential oil of Artemisia monosperma showed the highest inhibitory effect against H. apiaria (EC50 = 31 mg L−1) and G. lucidum (EC50 = 53 mg L−1). The results of in vitro tests indicated that the essential oils of Cupressus sempervirens, Citrus limon, Thuja occidentalis, Schinus molle, A. monosperma and Pelargonium graveolens were the most potent inhibitors against both fungi. These six oils caused significant reduction of wood mass loss of Scots pine sapwood after 6 weeks of fungal exposure. The oil of C. limon revealed the highest reduction of wood mass loss caused by H. apiaria, while A. monosperma oil displayed the highest reduction of wood loss caused by G. lucidum. These results support the potential use of essential oils for wood protection against decay fungi.

Antimycotic efficiency of essential oils and ethanol extracts of some medicinal plants in Egypt

The antimycotic activity of essential oils and ethanol extracts of seven species of medicinal plants namely; garlic, galangal, cinnamon, eucalyptus, elecampane, basil and clove were assayed against the growth of five pathogenic fungi; Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. ostianus, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani in addition to Candida albicans (pathogenic yeast) by disc diffusion method. The results revealed that garlic essential oil had broad-spectrum activity against all tested fungi followed by clove, cinnamon, elecampane, basil, galangal and eucalyptus. Clove ethanol extract had broad-spectrum activity against all tested fungi followed by elecampane and cinnamon. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and qualitative phytochemical screening were carried out for the wide spectrum highly active antimycotic extracts. Garlic, cinnamon, elecampane and clove essential oils and cinnamon, elecampane and clove ethanol extracts were chosen to undergo the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination and qualitative phytochemical screening. Both clove essential oil and ethanol extract, compared to the other extracts, exhibited the best antimycotic activity and lowest MIC in concentration.

Considerable hazards produced by heavy fuel oil in operating thermal power plant in Assiut, Egypt

Heavy fuel oil and ash samples were collected from the Assiut thermal power plant in Egypt and subjected to gamma spectrometry analysis for natural radioactivity contents. Considerable results were observed where the ash contains nearly 1,000 times natural radionuclides more than raw oil. The results were confirmed by measuring the samples via using different devices in different institutions. All ash samples had radium equivalent activities and external hazard index values more than 370Bq/kg and unity respectively. The mean absorbed dose rate was10,650nGy/h which is nearly 190 times higher than the global average value of 55nGy/h. The corresponding annual external effective dose is estimated to be 13mSv/year, which is nearly 30 times higher than that in areas of natural background radiation (0.46mSv/year).