Context: Adiantum capillus-veneris L. (Adiantaceae) hypocholesterolemic activity is therapeutically praised. Objectives: Pharmacological modulation of pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase (PL) and a-amylase/a-glucosidase by A. capillus-veneris are evaluated. Materials and methods: Using positive controls (acarbose, orlistat, guar gum, atorvastatin, glipizide and metformin) as appropriate, crude aqueous extracts (AEs) of A. capillus-veneris aerial parts were tested via a combination of in vitro enzymatic (0.24-100 mg/mL), acute in vivo carbohydrate tolerance tests (125, 250 or 500 mg/kg body weight [b.wt]) and chronic in vivo studies (500 mg/kg b.wt) in high cholesterol diet (HCD) fed Wistar rats. Results: Like acarbose, A. capillus-veneris as well as chlorogenic acid, with respective IC 50 values (mg/mL) of 0.8 ± 0.0 and 0.2 ± 0.0, were identified as in vitro potent dual inhibitors of a-amylase/a-glucosidase. Unlike guar gum, A. capillus-veneris had no glucose diffusion hindrance capacity. Equivalent to orlistat, A. capillus-veneris and its phytoconstituents inhibited PL in vitro with an ascending order of PL-IC 50 values (lg/mL): ferulic acid; 0.48 ± 0.06 < ellagic acid; 13.53 ± 1.83 < chlorogenic acid; 38.4 ± 2.8 < A. capillus-veneris; 1600 ± 100. Incomparable to acarbose or metformin and glipizide, A. capillus-veneris (125, 250 and 500 mg/kg b.wt) lacked antihyperglycaemic efficacies in acute starch-or glucose-evoked postprandial hyperglycaemia increments in normoglycaemic overnight fasting rats. Superior to atorvastatin; A. capillusveneris exerted significant antiobesity (p < 0.001) with marked triacylglycerol-reducing capacities (p < 0.001) in comparison to rats fed with HCD for 10 weeks. Discussion and conclusion: A. capillus-veneris, modulating pancreatic digestive enzymes, may be advocated as a combinatorial diabesity prevention/phytotherapy agent. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Background:Arum hygrophilum is a traditional medicinal plant indigenous to Jordan. The present study explores its phytochemistry, antioxidative, antidiabesity, and antiproliferative potentialities.Materials and Methods:Column chromatography and HPLC-MS analysis were used for its phytochemical evaluation. Using leaf crude water and ethanol extracts, the antioxidative capacities, their modulation of pancreatic β-cell proliferation, and insulin secretion as well as glucose diffusion and enzymatic bioassays were evaluated.Results:Three flavonoids (luteolin, isoorientin, and vitexin) and β-sitosterol have been isolated and their structures determined. HPLC-MS analysis of the ethanol extract further revealed the presence of caffeic, ferulic, gallic, and rosmarinic acids and quercetine-3-O-rhamnoside. The ethanol extract exhibited DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging and antioxidative capacities. A. hygrophilum (1), vitexin (2), and rosmarinic acid (3) inhibited pancreatic lipase (PL) dose dependently with PL-IC50 (µg/mL) values in an ascending order: (3); 51.28 ± 7.55 < (2); 260.9 ± 21.1 < (1); 1720 ± 10. Comparable to GLP-1-enhanced β-cell proliferation in 2-day treatment wells, a dose-dependent augmentation of BrdU incorporation was obtained with the A. hygrophilum aqueous extract (AE) (0.5 and 1 mg/mL, with respective 1.33- and 1.41-folds, P < 0.001). A. hygrophilum AE was identified as an inhibitor of α-amylase/α-glucosidase with IC50 value of 30.5 ± 2.1 mg/mL but lacked antiproliferative effects in colorectal cancer cell lines (HT29, HCT116, and SW620) and insulinotropic effects in β-cell line MIN6.Conclusion:A. hygrophilum extracts inhibited gastrointestinal enzymes involved in carbohydrate and lipid digestion and absorption.SUMMARY Phytochemical evaluation of Arum hygrophilum recovered flavonoids (luteolin, isoorientin and vitexin) and β-sitosterolHPLC-MS analysis of its antioxidative ethanol extract further revealed the presence of caffeic-, ferulic-, gallic- and rosmarinic acids and quercetine-3-O-rhamnosideA. hygrophilum inhibited α-amylase/α-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase dose-dependentlyA. hygrophilum augmented β-cell proliferation dose dependently, but it lacked antiproliferative effects in colorectal cancer cell lines (HT29, HCT116, and SW620) and insulinotropic effects in β-cell line MIN6 Abbreviations used: ABTS: 2,2’-Azino-Bis-3-Ethylbenzothiazoline-6-Sulfonic Acid, AE: Aqueous Extract, ANOVA: Analysis Of Variance, AUC: Area Under Curve, BrdU: 5-Bromo-2’-Deoxyuridine, DPPH: 2,2-Diphenyl -1-Pycriylhydrazyl, ELISA: Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, GLP1: Glucagon Like Peptide 1, GSIS: Glucose Stimulated Insulin Secretion, HPLC-MS: High Performance Liquid Chromatography –Mass Spectrometry, IC50: 50% Inhibitory Concentration, KRH: Krebs/Ringer/Hepes, MTT: 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-Yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide, OGTT: Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, ORAC: Oxygen Radical Antioxidant Capacity, OSTT: Oral Starch Tolerance Test, PL: Pancreatic Lipase, SEM: Standard Error Of The Mean, SRB: Sulforhodamine B, TE...

Angiogenesis is essential for the growth, invasion, and metastasis of most solid tumors and has become a valuable pharmacological target for cancer prevention and treatment. This study was performed to assess the antiangiogenic activity of 31 medicinal plants grown and sold in Jordan. The antiangiogenic activity was assessed using the rat aortic ring assay. Out of 31 extracts, 15 extracts showed more than 50 % inhibition of the blood vessels outgrowth from the primary tissue explants (p = 0.000). Three of these 15 extracts showed a potential cytotoxic effect on normal fibroblast cells. Four extracts shared antiangiogenic and antiproliferative activity towards MCF7 breast cancer cell lines. Eight extracts demonstrated selective antiangiogenic activity. This is the first report demonstrating the potential antiangiogenic activity of Artemisia judaica, Aloysia citriodora, Salvia egyptiaca, and Calendula arvensis. Some extracts with antiangiogenic activity exhibited selectivity against the endothelial cells proliferation, demonstrating a direct inhibitory activity against the key step in tumor angiogenesis.