Distinct morphological MgO nanoparticles (MgONPs) were synthesized using biomasses of Saussurea costus roots. The biomass of two varieties of Saussurea costus (Qustal hindi and Qustal bahri) were used in the green synthesis of MgONPs. The physical and chemical features of nanoparticles were confirmed by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The surface morphology of the obtained nanoparticles was detected at different magnifications by SEM and TEM microscopy and the size of nanoparticles were found to be 30 and 34 nm for Qustal hindi and Qustal bahri, respectively. The antimicrobial activity of the prepared MgONPs was screened against six pathogenic strains. The synthesized nanoparticles by Qustal bahri biomass exerted significant inhibition zones 15, 16, 18, 17, 14, and 10 mm against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, C. tropicalis and C. glabrata, S. aureus and B. subtilis as compared to those from Qustal hindi 12, 8 and 17 mm against B. subtilis, E. coli and C. tropicalis, respectively. MgONPs showed a potential cytotoxicity effect against MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines. Cellular investigations of MgONPs revealed that the prepared nanoparticles by Qustal bahri exhibited high cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cancer cell lines. IC 50 values in MCF-7 cells were found to be 67.3% and 52.1% for MgONPs of Saussurea costus biomasses, respectively. Also, the photocatalytic activity of MgONPs of each Saussurea costus variety was comparatively studied. They exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue after UV irradiation for 1 h as 92% and 59% for those prepared by Qustal bahri and Qustal hindi, respectively. Outcome of results revealed that the biosynthesized MgONPs showed promising biomedical potentials.

From the culture of the endophytic fungus Fusarium sp. isolated from the roots of Mentha longifolia L. (Labiatae) growing in Saudi Arabia, a new cyclodepsipeptide, namely fusaripeptide A (1), along with three known compounds adenosine (2), 2[(2-hydroxypropionyl)amino]benzamide (3), and cyclopentanol (4), have been isolated. Their structures were determined, using extensive 1D and 2D NMR and HRESI and GC mass spectral data. That is the first report for the isolation of compound 4 from natural source. In addition, compounds 2 and 3 are reported here for the first time from Fusarium sp. The absolute configuration of the amino acid residues of 1 was assigned by chiral GCMS and Marfey's analysis after acid hydrolysis. Fusaripeptide A differs from the reported ones from Fusarium sp. in the length of fatty acidic alkyl chain. Compound 1 was evaluated for its antifungal, anti-malarial, and cytotoxic activities. It exhibited potent antifungal activity toward C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, and A. fumigates with IC values of 0.11, 0.24, 0.19, and 0.14 μM, respectively. Furthermore, it had significant anti-malarial activity toward P. falciparum (D6 clone) with IC value of 0.34 μM. However, it showed cytotoxic activity toward the tested cell lines.

The antioxidant and enzyme inhibitory potential of fifteen cycloartane-type triterpenes’ potentials were investigated using different assays. In the phosphomolybdenum method, cycloalpioside D (6) (4.05 mmol TEs/g) showed the highest activity. In 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH*) radical and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) cation radical scavenging assays, cycloorbicoside A-7-monoacetate (2) (5.03 mg TE/g) and cycloorbicoside B (10) (10.60 mg TE/g) displayed the highest activities, respectively. Oleanolic acid (14) (51.45 mg TE/g) and 3-О-β-d -xylopyranoside-(23R,24S)-16β,23;16α,24-diepoxycycloart-25(26)-en-3β,7β-diol 7-monoacetate (4) (13.25 mg TE/g) revealed the highest reducing power in cupric ion-reducing activity (CUPRAC) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays, respectively. In metal-chelating activity on ferrous ions, compound 2 displayed the highest activity estimated by 41.00 mg EDTAE/g (EDTA equivalents/g). The tested triterpenes showed promising AChE and BChE inhibitory potential with 3-О-β-d-xylopyranoside-(23R,24S)-16β,23;16α,24-diepoxycycloart-25(26)-en-3β,7β-diol 2′,3′,4′,7-tetraacetate (3), exhibiting the highest inhibitory activity as estimated from 5.64 and 5.19 mg GALAE/g (galantamine equivalent/g), respectively. Compound 2 displayed the most potent tyrosinase inhibitory activity (113.24 mg KAE/g (mg kojic acid equivalent/g)). Regarding α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition, 3-О-β-d-xylopyranoside-(23R,24S)-16β,23;16α,24-diepoxycycloart-25(26)-en-3β,7β-diol (5) (0.55 mmol ACAE/g) and compound 3 (25.18 mmol ACAE/g) exerted the highest activities, respectively. In silico studies focused on compounds 2, 6, and 7 as inhibitors of tyrosinase revealed that compound 2 displayed a good ranking score (−7.069 kcal/mole) and also that the ΔG free-binding energy was the highest among the three selected compounds. From the ADMET/TOPKAT prediction, it can be concluded that compounds 4 and 5 displayed the best pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behavior, with considerable activity in most of the examined assays.

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This study aimed to assess and correlate the phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of the methanol extracts of the stems, roots, flowers, and leaves of Echinops spinosus L. from north-eastern Algeria. Qualitative analysis was performed by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR) LC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS and (HR) LC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS/MS). Forty-five compounds were identified in the methanol extracts; some are described for the first time in E. spinosus. Targeted phenolic compounds were quantified by HPLC-DAD and it was shown that caffeoyl quinic derivatives were the most abundant compounds. Chemometric analysis was performed using principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) based on the qualitative and quantitative LC data. The score plot discriminates different Echinopsis spinosus organs into three distinct clusters, with the stems and flowers allocated in the same cluster, reflecting their resemblance in their secondary metabolites. The antioxidant activities of the methanol extracts were assessed using cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), ferric reducing antioxidant assay (FRAP), diphenyl picryl hydrazyl radical-scavenging capacity assay (DPPH●), and 2,2’-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS●+). The root extract exhibited the highest antioxidant activity, evidenced by 3.26 and 1.61 mmol Fe2+/g dried residue for CUPRAC and FRAP, respectively, and great free radical-scavenging activities estimated by 0.53 and 0.82 mmol TEAC/g dried residue for DPPH● and ABTS●+, respectively. The methanol extract of the roots demonstrated a significant level of total phenolics (TP: 125.16 mg GAE/g dried residue) and flavonoids (TFI: 25.40 QE/g dried residue TFII: 140 CE/g dried residue). Molecular docking revealed that tricaffeoyl-altraric acid and dicaffeoyl-altraric acid exhibited the best fit within the active sites of NADPH oxidase (NO) and myeloperoxidase (MP). From ADME/TOPAKT analyses, it can be concluded that tricaffeoyl-altraric acid and dicaffeoyl-altraric acid also revealed reasonable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics with a significant safety profile.