Phthalides, mainly isolated from two genera: Ligusticum and Angelica of the Apiceae (syn Umbelliferae) family, are thought to be a potent natural compound with many therapeutic effects, such as antiplatelet, antitussive, antinociceptive, anti‐inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and immunosuppressive activities. They also have antifungal, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Phthalides are responsible for the characteristic odor of celery. Since ancient times, phthalides containing plants have been used in Asia, Europe, and North America as traditional medicines and food flavoring agents. In this review, we have provided the data regarding the mechanisms of action related with phthalides on different cancer cells, their chemopreventive properties, and their possible therapeutic potential against various types of human cancer. Our attempt is to make a case for the use of phthalide and their derivatives as one of the plant‐based compounds in targeting metabolic treatment of cancer diseases.

The genus Genista L. (Family: Fabaceae) is a plant having several traditional uses for treating common ailments such as diabetes, ulcer, and respiratory diseases. In this current study, the composition of essential oil and the biological activities of Genista sagittalis L. (Fabaceae) from Kocaeli: Yuvacık Dam Basin have been studied. A total of fourteen components were identified in the essential oil. The identified compounds belonged to straight-chain alkane, aromatic ether, and terpenoid derivatives. The antibacterial activity analyses demonstrated that G. sagittalis flower extract only had low activity against P. mirabilis and P. aeruginosa with MICs 1 to 2 mg/mL, as the peduncle extract showed strong anti-QS activity at 1.3 mg/mL. To the best of our knowledge, the current work is the first to report the antimicrobial and anti-quorum sensing activity of G. sagittalis growing in Turkey. Double-stranded DNA binding affinity investigations of the flower and peduncle ethanol extracts indicate that there are interactions with double-stranded DNA and related binding constants (Kb) were found as 1.97×103±0.37 and 3.68×102±0.44 for the flower and peduncle extract, respectively.