1.Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of a Lebanese plant Euphorbia macroclada schyzoceras
Hussein FARHAN ; Hassan RAMMAL ; Akram HIJAZI ; Ahmad DAHER ; Mohamad REDA ; Hussein ANNAN ; Ali CHOKR ; Ali BASSAL ; Bassam BADRAN
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine 2013;(7):542-548
Objective:To determine the chemical composition, total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of the crude extracts from leaves and stems of a Lebanese plant Euphorbia macroclada schyzoceras (E. macroclada), and to evaluate their antioxidant potential using DPPH, H2O2, and chelating of ferrous ions tests. Methods:Quantification of the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents of the crude extracts from leaves and stems and the antioxidant activities were evaluated using spectrophotometric analyses. The chemical composition has been estimated using different techniques such as IR, LC/MS and NMR. Results:Ethanolic extract from leaves of E. macroclada was better than aqueous extract and showed higher content in total phenolic and total flavonoid than found in the stems. On the other hand, using DPPH and H2O2 tests, this extract from leaves showed higher antioxidant capacity than aqueous extract. However, using the chelating of ferrous ions test, the antioxidant activity of the aqueous extract of both stems and leaves was stronger than that of ethanolic once. The chemical composition of the whole plant showed the presence of some aromatic compounds and fatty acids. Conclusions:Both ethanolic and water extracts from both parts of this plant are effective and have good antioxidant power. So, this plant can be used in the prevention of a number of diseases related to oxidative stress.
2. Antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of polysaccharides, essential oil, and fatty oil extracted from Laurus nobilis growing in Lebanon
Mohammad CHMIT ; Mustafa ABBASS ; Ali CHOKR ; Hussein KANAAN ; Jean HABIB ; Mustafa ABBASS ; Ali CHOKR ; Ali MCHEIK
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine 2014;7(S1):S546-S552
Objective: To evaluate the antibacterial activity of the extracts of Laurus nobilis against three Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and Staphylococcus epidermidis CIP 444) and two Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 35218 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853). Also, the antibiofilm activity has been investigated against the biofilm produced by Staphylococcus epidermidis CIP 444. Materials: The polysaccharides, essential oil, and fatty oils extracted from the plant were used in broth microdilution methods to study the minimal inhibitory concentration, and then the minimal bactericidal concentration was determined. Results: The results showed that alginate, fucoidan, fatty oils and essential oil have good antibacterial activities against the 5 bacterial strains, and a negligible biofilm eradication activity of fucoidan, laminaran, fatty oil, and essential oil was observed, but a promising biofilm eradication activity was obtained with alginate, which showed a reduced biofilm mass even at low concentration. Conclusions: The extracts obtained have promising antibacterial capacities which need further investigation for them to be incorporated in medical or nutritional applications.