The chemical composition of the aerial parts' essential oil of Limonium lobatum (L.f.) Chaz. growing wild in Algeria.

The Limonium genus (Plumbaginaceae) includes several species of perennial herbs and shrubs belonging to a particular type of halophytes, known as 'recretohalophytes'. Limonium species are widely distributed in the Mediterranean region, mainly in the North-Eastern and Southern countries and several bioactivities have been well documented. In the present study, the chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) of the aerial parts of Limonium lobatum (L.f.) Chaz., a species never chemically previously studied and collected in Algeria, which grows in South Spain, North Africa, and SW Asia, was analysed using GC-MS. The main constituents of the EO were monoterpenes involving eucalyptol (14.21%), ß-pinene (8.62%), ß-myrcene (8.18%). Among the sesquiterpene compounds ß-caryophyllene (8.94%) was the major one. The chemical profile of the EO presented here was compared with the EOs of previously investigated Limonium taxa. Furthermore, a complete literature review on the ethno-pharmacological uses of Limonium species was performed.

The chemical composition of the essential oils of two Mediterranean species of Convolvulaceae: Convolvulus althaeoides subsp. tenuissimus collected in Sicily (Italy) and Calystegia silvatica collected in Algeria.

Convolvulus L. and Calystegia R.Br. are two closely related genera of the Convolvulaceae family distributed in Asia, Mediterranean, Macaronesia, East Africa, and Arabia, including about 210 and 30 accepted species, respectively, of flowering plants, present as trees, shrubs, and herbs. The ethnomedical use of Convolvulus species dates to 1730s as they displayed profuse medicinal properties. In the present study, the not previously investigated chemical compositions of the essential oils from aerial parts of Convolvulus althaeoides subsp. tenuissimus (Sm.) Bat., collected in Sicily, and Calystegia sylvatica (Kit.) Griseb., collected in Algeria, were evaluated by GC-MS. The main components of the essential oil of the first one were ß-caryophyllene (28.68%), γ-muurolene (23.75%), and γ-elemene (17.55%), whereas the C. silvatica essential oil was shown to be rich of valeranone (10.77%), viridiflorol (9.45%), and germacrene D (8.61%). Furthermore, a complete literature review on the ethno-pharmacological uses of Convolvulus and Calystegia species was performed.

Low concentrations of Ambrosia maritima L. phenolic extract protect endothelial cells from oxidative cell death induced by H2O2 and sera from Crohn's disease patients.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: A rising resort to herbal therapies in Crohn's disease (CD) alternative treatments has been recently observed due to their remarkable natural efficiency. In this context, the weed plant Ambrosia maritima L., traditionally known as Hachich el Aouinet in Algeria and as Damsissa in Egypt and Sudan, is widely used in North African folk medicine to treat infections, inflammatory diseases, gastrointestinal and urinary tract disturbances, rheumatic pain, respiratory problems, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. AIM OF THE STUDY: To assess an Ambrosia maritima L. phenolic extract for its phenolic profile composition, its potential antioxidant activity in vitro, and its cytoprotective effect on cultured primary human endothelial cells (ECs) stressed with H2O2 and sera from CD patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Phenolic compound extraction was performed with a low-temperature method. Extract chemical profile was attained by HPLC-DAD/ESI-MS. The extract in vitro antioxidant activity was assessed using several methods including cupric ion reducing power, DPPH radical scavenging assay, O-Phenanthroline free radical reducing activity, ABTS cation radical decolourisation assay, Galvinoxyl free radicals scavenging assay. Intracellular reactive oxygen species levels were evaluated in human endothelial cells by H2DCFDA, while cell viability was assessed by MTT. RESULTS: The phenolic compounds extraction showed a yield of 17.66% with three di-caffeoylquinic acid isomers detected for the first time in Ambrosia maritima L. Using different analytical methods, a significant in vitro antioxidant activity was reported for the Ambrosia maritima L. extract, with an IC50 value of 14.33 ± 3.86 µg/mL for the Galvinoxyl antioxidant activity method. Challenged with ECs the Ambrosia maritima L. extract showed a biphasic dose-dependent effect on H2O2-treated cells, cytoprotective and antioxidant at low doses, and cytotoxic and prooxidant at high doses, respectively. Viability and ROS levels data also demonstrated a prooxidant and cytotoxic effect of CD sera on cultured ECs. Interestingly, 10 µg/mL of Ambrosia maritima L. extract was able to counteract both CD sera-induced oxidative stress and ECs death. CONCLUSION: Our data indicated Ambrosia maritima L. as a source of bioactive phenolics potentially employable as a natural alternative for CD treatment.

Essential oil composition and biological activities of Ononis alba Poir (Fabaceae).

The phytochemical and biological properties of Ononis alba Poir L. (Fabaceae) were investigated for the first time in this study. The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial parts was analysed by GC-MS. The phenolic contents of extracts obtained with different solvents were determined by the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and the antioxidant activity was evaluated through DPPH and CUPRAC methods. The inhibitory potential of these extracts was evaluated on α-amylase and α-glucosidase, whereas the antimicrobial effect was verified against some bacteria and fungi through the well diffusion method. Ketones and carboxylic acids were the main essential oil constituents. The highest total phenolic and flavonoid content as well as the best antioxidant capacity were noticed on the n-butanol extract. All the extracts showed a greater efficiency than acarbose in the inhibition of α-amylase. On the other hand, they demonstrated a mild inhibition effect against Staphylococcus aureus and Fusarium oxysporum.

Ethnoveterinary remedies used in the Algerian steppe: Exploring the relationship with traditional human herbal medicine.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Ethnoveterinary medicine is vastly under-documented, especially in North Africa, where livestock care is increasingly medicalised. Despite evidence of the interdependence of ethnoveterinary practices and ethnomedicine for human care, the overlap between these two systems and the possible drivers of similarity are rarely addressed in ethnopharmacological literature. Here, we present the first quantitative comparison of remedies used to treat human and animal health among a pastoral society. AIMS: This study aims to document the plants and other materials used in ethnoveterinary medicine among nomadic herders in the Algerian steppe. We calculate the overlap with remedies used for human health and evaluate some of the possible drivers of similarities between the two interlinked medical systems. METHODS: The field study was conducted in spring 2018 with 201 local knowledge holders in five provinces in the central part of the Algerian steppe. Forty-six camps and ten weekly animal markets were visited. After obtaining prior informed consent, data was collected through structured interviews. Anonymous sociodemographic information was collected along with veterinary use data. Plant specimens were acquired, identified and deposited in the Botanical Laboratory Herbarium of the University of Tiaret. Ethnobotanical information was structured in use reports and therapeutic applications organised into 13 simple categories. Plants used in ethnoveterinary medicine were compared to those used in human health care using a Chi square test, and ethnoveterinary use was predicted using a generalised linear model with use for human care and plant family as predictive variables. Logistic regressions were also used to test if any specific medicinal application predicts shared use in human and veterinary medicine. RESULTS: Sixty-six plant species from 32 botanical families and ten non-vegetable remedies were documented. Plants from the Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Apiaceae families were most commonly used. The plants most often cited by interviewees are all harvested from the wild (Echinops spinosissimus Turra, Atriplex halimus L., Artemisia campestris L., Juniperus phoenicea L. and Peganum harmala L.). Leaves are the most commonly used plant part and decoction is the most common preparation method. There are important similarities between remedies used to treat humans and other animals: two thirds of the remedies used in ethnoveterinary medicine are also used in human health care, and these represent half of the human health treatments. Use for human health and plant family both predict the use of a medicinal plant in veterinary medicine, but no correlation is found regarding specific therapeutic applications. CONCLUSIONS: Traditional veterinary knowledge is still key to sheep and goat herders in the Algerian steppe, but a knowledge transmission gap seems to exist between older and younger generations, and ethnoveterinary practices may disappear in the near future. Treatments for human and animal care overlap to a large extent, and a causal relationship possibly exists for, at least, some of them. However, overall a smaller number of remedies are used to treat animals than humans and for less therapeutic applications. This difference in the diversity of therapeutic applications and remedies should be the object of future research.