Browsing by Author "Okba, Mona M"

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    Comparative Botanical and Genetic Diversity Study of Different Cultivars of Sesamum indicum L. Cultivated in Egypt
    (Natural Product Research Group University of Benin, 11/02/2020) El-Hawary, Seham S; Ashour, Rehab M. S; El-Bishbishy, Mahitab H; Okba, Mona M; Hassan, Heba A
    Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a plant belonging to the Family Pedaliaceae. It grows worldwide in India, Sudan and China. The high nutritive and curative effects of sesame favour its wide use in culinary and traditional medicines in many countries. No reports could be traced concerning the macromorphological and micromorphological characterization or genetic profiling of S. indicum L. cultivars (Shandawel-3, Giza-32 and Toshka) cultivated in Egypt. The establishment of proper identification and authentication of such valuable plant deemed necessary. Therefore, botanical and genetic diversity study of the three cultivars using RAPD markers were investigated. Detailed morphological study through examination of transverse sections in the lamina and midrib region, examination of surface preparations and powders of the three cultivars.Also, Genetic study was performed using twelve primers producing a total of ninety-nine RAPD fragments, of which twenty-five bands (25.25%) were polymorphic. The number of bands per primer ranged from two to fourteen, while the number of polymorphic bands ranged from zero to six and monomorphic bands ranged from two to twelve. Unique bands were observed with eleven primers. Unweighted pair group method using arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering resulted in two major groups. Results showed that all cultivars have nearly similar macro and micromorphological characters but differ in the dimensions of certain elements with high level of genetic similarity. Thus, this study helped in providing a useful tool for identification of sesame for germplasm banks maintenance and effective parents selection in breeding programs.
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    In-depth hepatoprotective mechanistic study of Phyllanthus niruri: In vitro and in vivo studies and its chemical characterization
    (NLM (Medline), 2020) Ezzat, Shahira M; Mohamed, Shanaz O; Prince, Abdelbary; El-Banna, Hossny A; Ahmed, Sherif H; Okba, Mona M; Ezzat, Marwa I
    Phyllanthus niruri L. is a widespread tropical plant which is used in Ayurvedic system for liver and kidney ailments. The present study aims at specifying the most active hepatoprotective extract of P. niruri and applying a bio-guided protocol to identify the active compounds responsible for this effect. P. niruri aerial parts were extracted separately with water, 50%, 70% and 80% ethanol. The cytoprotective activity of the extracts was evaluated against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in clone-9 and Hepg2 cells. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the aqueous extract (AE) was accomplished for the isolation of the active compounds. Antioxidant activity was assessed using DPPH (1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging method and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). The in vivo hepatoprotective activity of AE was evaluated in CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats at different doses after determination of its LD50. Pretreatment of clone-9 and Hepg2 with different concentrations of AE (1, 0.1, 0.01 mg/ml) had significantly reduced the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) against CCl4 injures, and restored the activity of the natural antioxidants; glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) towards normalization. Fractionation of AE gave four fractions (I-IV). Fractions I, II, and IV showed a significant in vitro hepatoprotective activity. Purification of I, II and IV yielded seven compounds; corilagin C1, isocorilagin C2, brevifolin C3, quercetin C4, kaempferol rhamnoside C5, gallic acid C6, and brevifolin carboxylic acid C7. Compounds C1, C2, C5, and C7 showed the highest (p< 0.001) hepatoprotective potency, while C3, C4, and C6 exhibited a moderate (p< 0.001) activity. The AE exhibited strong antioxidant DPPH (IC50 11.6 ± 2 μg/ml) and FRAP (79.352 ± 2.88 mM Ferrous equivalents) activity. In vivo administration of AE in rats (25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) caused normalization of AST, ALT, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total cholesterol (TC), triglycyrides (TG), total bilirubin (TB), glucose, total proteins (TP), urea and creatinine levels which were elevated by CCl4. AE also decreased TNF-α, NF-KB, IL-6, IL-8, IL10 and COX-2 expression, and significantly antagonizes the effect of CCl4 on the antioxidant enzymes SOD, catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), and glutathione peroxidase (GSP). The histopathological study also supported the hepatoprotective effect of AE. P. niruri isolates exhibited a potent hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in clone-9 and Hepg2 cell lines through reduction of lipid peroxidation and maintaining glutathione in its reduced form. This is attributable to their phenolic nature and hence antioxidative potential.