Phytochemical Compositions of Some Red Sea Halophyte Plants with Antioxidant and Anticancer Potentials.

The aim of this study was to determine the compositions of carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, fatty acids (FAs), and amino acids (AAs) of four Rea Sea halophytes: Anabasis ehrenbergii, Suaeda aegyptiaca, Suaeda monoica, and Zygophyllum album. The results showed that S. aegyptiaca and S. monoica were rich in gallic acid with 41.72 and 47.48 mg/g, respectively, while A. ehrenbergii was rich in naringenin with 11.88 mg/g. The polysaccharides of the four species were mainly composed of galactose (54.74%) in A. ehrenbergii, mannose (44.15%) in S. aegyptiaca, glucose and ribose (33 and 26%, respectively) in S. monoica, and arabinose and glucose (36.67 and 31.52%, respectively) in Z. album. Glutamic acid and aspartic acid were the major AAs in all halophyte species with 50-63% and 10-22% of the total AAs, respectively. The proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) of the four species was 42.18-55.33%, comprised mainly of linolenic acid (15.54-28.63%) and oleic acid (5.68-22.05%), while palmitic acid (23.94-49.49%) was the most abundant saturated fatty acid (SFA). Phytol and 9,19-cyclolanost-24-en-3ß-ol represented the major unsaponifiable matter (USM) constituents of S. monoica and A. ehrenbergii with proportions 42.44 and 44.11%, respectively. The phenolic fraction of S. aegyptiaca and S. monoica demonstrated noteworthy antioxidant activity with IC50 values of 9.0 and 8.0 µg/mL, respectively, while the FAs fraction of Z. album exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against Huh-7, A-549, and Caco-2 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 7.4, 10.8, and 11.8 µg/mL, respectively. Our results indicate that these plants may be considered a source of naturally occurring compounds with antioxidant and anticancer effects that could be suitable for future applications.

In vitro inhibition of Hepatitis C virus protease and antioxidant by flavonoid glycosides from the Saudi costal plant Sarcocornia fruticosa.

A new flavonol triglycoside, rhamnazin 3-O-2G-rhamnorutinoside or rhamnazin 3-O-(2″,6″-O-α-di-rhamnosyl)-ß-glucoside (1) was isolated along with known flavonols, rhamnazin 3-O-rutinoside (2), rhamnazin 3-O-(6″-O-α-rhamnosyl)-ß-galactoside (3), isorhamnetin 3-O-(6″-O-α-rhamnosyl)-ß-galactoside (4), isorhamnetin 3-O-(2″,6″-O-α-di-rhamnosyl)-ß-galactoside (5), and isorhamnetin (6), and allantoin (7) from the aqueous methanol extract of Sarcocornia fruticosa leaves. Spectral analyses (UV, MS, and NMR) and acid hydrolysis were used to determine the structures. These compounds in this study except 6 were reported for the first time from the genus Sarcocornia. The extract and flavonol glycosides (1-5) were evaluated for antioxidant and inhibition of HCV protease enzyme. Rhamnazin triglycoside (1) was shown to have a potent HCV protease inhibitor with IC50 value 8.9 µM, while isorhamnetin di- and triglycosides (4 and 5) were effectively scavenged DPPH radicals with IC50 values 3.8 and 4.3 µM, respectively.