Abstract:The majority of the currently used cosmetics and drugs are natural products-based compounds or their derivatives. This could add weight to the argument that natural based products are inherently better tolerated in the body than synthetic chemicals and have higher chance to be approved as new drugs. The present study was undertaken to analyze a natural product database compared to synthetic chemicals and to search for discriminative physicochemical properties that may probably help in differentiating between natural and synthetic compounds. We have formulated rules to assess the natural likeness of chemicals and thereby discriminate between natural-based and synthetic chemicals. A Mathews Correlation Coefficient of 0.5 was obtained; nearly 81% of natural-based products and 68% of synthetic chemicals were precisely classified using this filter. The property criteria for drug-likeness and lead-likeness are more pronounced in natural products rather than synthetic ones. The fraction of synthetic chemicals which are natural-like could have higher chance to be successful drug.

The aim of this study is to disclose the potential bioactive components of Cuscuta palaestina, a native parasitic natural plant of flora palaestina and to open direction towards new prospective application. GC-MS analysis identified 18 components in the methanolic extract of C. palaestina for the first time. The most appealing among them are Sesamin and two other phytosterols (Campesterol and Stigmasterol), all of which are documented in the scientific literature for their anticancer activity. Quantitation of Sesamin extracted from C. palaestina by HPLC-PDA with the use of three organic solvents showed that the Sesamin content in the methanolic extract was the highest. Following the disclosure of Sesamin presence in C. palaestina, we raised the question of whether it is produced naturally in C. palaestina or acquired from the host plant. The quantitation of Sesamin in C. palaestina was performed while being with five different host plants, and was compared with the amount of Sesamin in C. palaestina grown alone. The findings reveal that Sesamin is an endogenous secondary metabolite in C. palaestina. Thus, further studies are required to prove if C. palaestina can be used as an alternative source of anticancer phytochemicals, mainly Sesamin, and if proteins in the Sesamin production pathway could be valid biological targets for the development of novel and selective pesticides for control/ eradication of C. palaestina and maybe some other Cuscuta species. As well, the findings from this study raise a big question of whether inferring Sesamin production in C. palaestina could reduce its attack ability to host plants.

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