Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a heterogeneous disease with numerous abnormal targets and pathways involved in insulin resistance, low-grade inflammation, oxidative stress, beta cell dysfunction, and epigenetic factors. Botanical drugs provide a large chemical space that can modify various targets simultaneously. Matricaria aurea (MA, golden chamomile) is a widely used herb in Middle Eastern communities for many ailments, including diabetes mellitus, without any scientific basis to support this tradition. For the first time, this study aimed to investigate the possible antidiabetic activity of MA in a type 2 diabetic rat model, identify chemical constituents by LC-MS/MS, and then elucidate the molecular mechanism(s) using enzyme activity assays, q-RTPCR gene expression analysis, network pharmacology analysis, and molecular docking simulation. Our results demonstrated that only the polar hydroethanolic extract of MA had remarkable antidiabetic activity. Furthermore, it improved dyslipidemia, insulin resistance status, ALT, and AST levels. LC-MS/MS analysis of MA hydroethanolic extract identified 62 compounds, including the popular chamomile flavonoids apigenin and luteolin, other flavonoids and their glycosides, coumarin derivatives, and phenolic acids. Based on pharmacokinetic screening and literature, 46 compounds were chosen for subsequent network analysis, which linked to 364 candidate T2DM targets from various databases and literature. The network analysis identified 123 hub proteins, including insulin signaling and metabolic proteins: IRS1, IRS2, PIK3R1, AKT1, AKT2, MAPK1, MAPK3, and PCK1, inflammatory proteins: TNF and IL1B, antioxidant enzymes: CAT and SOD, and others. Subsequent filtering identified 40 crucial core targets (major hubs) of MA in T2DM treatment. Functional enrichment analyses of the candidate targets revealed that MA targets were mainly involved in the inflammatory module, energy-sensing/endocrine/metabolic module, and oxidative stress module. q-RTPCR gene expression analysis showed that MA hydroethanolic extract was able to significantly upregulate PIK3R1 and downregulate IL1B, PCK1, and MIR29A. Moreover, the activity of the antioxidant hub enzymes was substantially increased. Molecular docking scores were also consistent with the networks’ predictions. Based on experimental and computational analysis, this study revealed for the first time that MA exerted antidiabetic action via simultaneous modulation of multiple targets and pathways, including inflammatory pathways, energy-sensing/endocrine/metabolic pathways, and oxidative stress pathways.

he study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant abilities of four endophytic actinomycetes (strain Act 1 , Act 2 , Act 3 , and Act 4) isolated from leaves of Asphodelus tenuifolius, as well as assessment of their phytochemical profile. Referring to morphological characters and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, actinomycete (strain Act2) was identified as Streptomyces fenghuangensis (GIMN4.003T) with 96% identical sequence and accession number (NR1175021). The results showed variant inhibitory activity against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. Act 2 endophytic actinomycete isolate showed broad spectrum activity against all pathogenic tested organisms, recording notable MIC value 10 µg/ml against Bacillus subtilus and Bacillus cereus, while At 3 and At 4 showed strong impact on Candida albicans. All of the ethyl acatate extracts of actinomycete isolates revealed high antioxidant activity ranging from 45-82% using DPPH radical. Phytochemical screening of the isolates indicates the presence of phenolics, flavonoids, sterols, anthraquinones and naphthaquinones.

Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. (Aizoaceae) has long been used as food and in traditional medicine. This study was intended to explore the active groups within M. nodiflorum ethanolic extract and to study the cytological effects of M. nodiflorum water extract on Allium cepa L. root tips. Phytochemical analysis of M. nodiflorum ethanolic extract indicated the presence of alkaloids and triterpenes. Tannins, flavonoids and saponins did not found in M. nodiflorum alcoholic extract. Mitotic indices and distribution of cells in mitotic phases of A. cepa root tips were clearly changed after treatment with three different concentration of M. nodiflorum water extract (0.1, 1 and 3%) for 3h, 6h, and 12h. The maximum value of mitotic index 2.68% was observed after treatment with 3% for 6h, while the minimum value 1.35% was scored after 12h exposure to the same concentration. Different types of chromosomal aberrations were noticed. The present study revealed that M. nodiflorum water extract has a potent inhibitory effect on the mitotic activity of A. cepa root tip cells.

amples of the 26 plants for the study were freshly obtained from the southeastern of Egypt, packed in paper bags and brought to the laboratory for further processing. 70% ethanolic extracts were prepared and subjected to phytochemical analysis of their secondary metabolites, both qualitatively (alkaloids, terpenoids, tannins, saponins, flavonoids and phenolics) and quantitatively (alkaloids, phenolics and flavonoids), in addition to elemental analysis. The qualitative evaluation showed the presence of all investigated phytocompound classes in most of the studied plants. Quantitative analysis revealed that the highest phenolics content (20.44 g %) was in Acacia tortilis Forssk. and the highest flavonoids content (14.26 g %) was in Matthiola arabica Boiss. Zygophyllum simplex L. highly shared with 10.94% in alkaloids pool. Elemental profile for each plant was attained. The interest in the current investigation of these 26 medicinal plants was motivated by exploring new biologically active compounds resource.

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