Tocopherols and Saponins Derived fromArgania spinosaExert, an Antiproliferative Effect on Human Prostate Cancer

Litholytic Activities of Natural Bioactive Compounds and Their Mechanism Insights

Urolithiasis is a disease characterized by the formation of stones, which are crystalline accretions that form in the urinary tract from minerals dissolved in the urine. Moreover, it is considered to be a complex and multifactorial disease, requiring treatment. Unfortunately, current treatments are insufficient or may induce several side effects. In fact, medicinal plants are among the anti-litholytic treatments that are strongly recommended by many studies. Indeed, these natural resources contain bioactive molecules of different natures, such as flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and phenolic acids, which have recently demonstrated very important anti-litholytic effects. The molecular mechanisms involved are multiple and variable, and can reach cellular and molecular levels. In this review, we have discussed in depth the work that has studied the bioactive molecules of medicinal plants and their major potential against urolithiasis. Scientific databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar, were searched from their inception until April 2021.The cellular and molecular mechanisms are presented and discussed. Some mechanisms of action related to these bioactive compounds are highlighted. This review could provide a scientific starting point for further studies on urolithiasis and natural bioactive compounds, especially flavonoids.

Anticancer medicinal plants used by Moroccan people: Ethnobotanical, preclinical, phytochemical and clinical evidence

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Cancer is a major health problem worldwide. Drugs' side effects and high cost of treatment remain the main limitations of conventional therapy. Nowadays, developing new therapeutic strategies is necessary. Therefore, medicinal plants can be used to promote novel, safe, and potent anticancer drugs through their natural compounds.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This review aims to provide scientific evidence related to the anticancer activities of medicinal plants used by Moroccan people as well as approving their efficiency as an alternative cancer therapy.

METHODS

An ethnopharmacological review approach was conducted by analyzing Moroccan published ethnobotanical surveys from 1991 to 2019 and consulting peer-reviewed articles worldwide to investigate the pharmacological, phytochemical, and clinical effects related to the anticancer activities. Plants with anticancer proprieties were classified into four groups: (a) plants only cited as anticancer, (b) plants pharmacologically investigated, (c) plants with bioactive compounds tested as anticancer, and (d) plants clinically investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 103 plant species belonging to 47 botanical families used by Moroccans to treat cancer have been recorded. Aristolochia fontanesii Boiss. & Reut, Marrubium vulgare L., and Allium sativum L. are the most referred species in Morocco. Medicinal plants used for cancer treatment were classified into four groups: 48 species were used traditionally as anticancer (group a), 41 species pharmacologically investigated for their anticancer activities (group b), 32 plants with bioactive compounds tested against cancer (group c), and eight plants were clinically investigated for their anticancer effects (group d). Out of 82 plants' extracts pharmacologically tested (from plants of group b), only 24 ones show a significant cytotoxic effect. A total of seventy-seven compounds are isolated from plants of group (c). However, only six ones were clinically evaluated, and most of them exhibit a beneficial effect on cancerous patients with few side effects.

CONCLUSION

Medicinal plants can be a promising candidate for alternative cancer therapy. Nevertheless, it is critical to increasing the clinical trials to confirm their beneficial effect on patients with cancer. Overall, this review can serve as a database for further studies.

Antimicrobial and synergistic effect of Moroccan native Argania spinosa essential oil for modulating of antibiotics resistance

In this study, the chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil (EO) extracted from leaves of the Moroccan endemic plant Argania spinosa were investigated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. In addition, the EO antimicrobial activity was evaluated in combination with two known antibiotics (ciprofloxacin and fluconazole), in order to ascertain possible synergistic effects. The chemical composition analyzed by GC/MS showed that A. spinosa EO was characterised by the abundance of geranyl acetate (19.18%), methyleugenol (10.98%), linalyl acetate (10.59%) and eucalyptol (8.49%), and monoterpene hydrocarbons was the major class. EO showed an antimicrobial potential against all tested microorganisms. The highest activity was recorded against Gram positive bacteria and yeasts with MICs ranging from 7.75 to 15.5 mg/mL and from 3.88 to 7.75 mg/mL, respectively. The Gram negative bacteria were the most resistant with MICs of 31 mg/mL. The mixture of EO at sub-inhibitory concentrations with conventional drugs exhibited a significant decrease in their individual MICs from 4 to 32 fold. The highest level of synergy was observed for ciprofloxacin against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. Despite the antimicrobial activity of A. spinosa EO is weak, the results of the current study suggest a potential synergy between EO and antibiotics in the goal to modulate drug resistance.

Ethnobotanic, Ethnopharmacologic Aspects and New Phytochemical Insights into Moroccan Argan Fruits

This review summarizes available data on argan fruit botany, geographical distribution, traditional uses, environmental interest, socioeconomic role, phytochemistry, as well as health beneficial effects and examination of future prospects. In particular, ethnomedical uses of argan fruits are carried out throughout Morocco where it has been used against various diseases. Different classes of bioactive compounds have been characterized including essential oils, fatty acids, triacylglycerols, flavonoids and their newly reported acylglycosyl derivatives, monophenols, phenolic acids, cinnamic acids, saponins, triterpenes, phytosterols, ubiquinone, melatonin, new aminophenols along with vitamin E among other secondary metabolites. The latter have already shown a wide spectrum of in vitro, and ex vivo biologicalactivities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, antihypertensive, anti-hypercholesterolemia, analgesic, antimicrobial, molluscicidal anti-nociceptive and anticancer potential. Argan flesh (pulp) contains a broad spectrum of polyphenolic compounds which may have utility for incorporation into nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals relevant to the food, cosmetic and health industries. Further research is recommended, especially on the health beneficial effects of the aminophenols.

Argania spinosa var. mutica and var. apiculata: variation of fatty-acid composition, phenolic content, and antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities among varieties, organs, and development stages

Argania spinosa includes two varieties, var. apiculata and var. mutica. These argan varieties were introduced into Tunisia in ancient times and are actually cultivated in some botanic gardens. Little is known about the chemical differentiation among these argan varieties. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine the fatty-acid composition, the total phenolic and flavonoid contents, and the antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities of leaf, seed, and pulp extracts of both argan varieties harvested during the months of January to April. The fatty-acid distribution was found to depend on the argan variety, the plant organ, and the harvest time. Significant variations in the phenolic contents were observed between the investigated varieties as well as between leaves, pulps, and seeds of each variety. As expected, phenolic compounds were found to be contributors to the antioxidant and α-amylase-inhibitory activities of both argan varieties. The chemical differentiation observed among the two argan varieties, based mainly on the fatty-acid composition, might have some chemotaxonomic value.

Identification of polyphenolic compounds in the flesh of Argan (Morocco) fruits

High performance liquid chromatography coupled with negative electrospray ionization (HPLC-ESI) along with fragmentation patterns generated by nano-electrospray ionization (nano-ESI-MS-MS) and NMR techniques were utilized for the identification of phenolic compounds in Argan fruits. A total of 15.4 g/kg was determined represented by catechins (39%), flavonoids (28%), procyanidins (26%), free phenolic acids (6%) and phenolic acid glycosides (1%). Twenty-one phenolic compounds were identified for the first time in Argan fruits namely III. epicatechin-(4β→8)-catechin dimer (procyanidin B1), IV. p-coumaric acid glycoside, VI. epicatechin-(4β→8)-epicatechin dimer (procyanidin B2), VIII. caffeic acid glycoside, XIX. epicatechin-(4β→8)-epicatechin-(4β→8)-epicatechin trimer (procyanidin C1), X. p-hydroxybenzaldehyde XI. ferulic acid glycoside, XII. vanillic acid, XIII. sinapic acid glycoside, XVI. p-coumaric acid, XVII. ferulic acid, XVIII. sinapic acid, XIX. rutin pentoside, XX. quercetin glycopentoside, XXI. 4,4'-dihydroxy-3,3'-imino-di-benzoic acid, XXV. quercetin-3-O-rhamnogalactoside, XXVII. quercetin glycohydroxybenzoate, XXVIII. quercetin glycocaffeate, XXIX. quercetin glycosinapate, XXX. quercetin glycoferulate and XXXI. quercetin glycocoumarate.

Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman: the overexploitation of a medicinal plant species and its legal context

The linkage between herbal medicines and the sustainability of medical plants from which they are manufactured is increasingly being understood and receiving attention through international accords and trade labeling systems. However, little attention is paid to the fair trade aspects of this sector, including the issue of benefit-sharing agreements with traditional societies whose knowledge and resources are being exploited for commercial herbal medicine development and production. This article examines the case of Prunus africana (Hook.f.) Kalkman, from equatorial Africa. While the conservation and cultivation dimension of the trade in P. africana has been much discussed in literature, no research appears to have focused on the traditional resource rights and related ethical dimensions of this trade in traditional medicine of Africa. Serving as a cautionary tale for the unbridled exploitation of medicinal plants, the history of P. africana extraction is considered here in the context of relevant treaties and agreements existing today. These include the Nagoya Protocol, a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement from the World Trade Organization, and two African regional frameworks: the Swakopmund Protocol and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle Initiative. In the context of strengthening medicinal plant research in Africa, a novel international capacity-building project on traditional medicines for better public health in Africa will be discussed, illustrating how access and benefit sharing principles might be incorporated in future projects on traditional medicines.

Anticancer attributes of desert plants: a review

The ever-increasing emergence of the resistance of mammalian tumor cells to chemotherapy and its severe side effects reduces the clinical efficacy of a large variety of anticancer agents that are currently in use. Thus, despite the significant progress in cancer therapeutics in the last decades, the need to discover and to develop new, alternative, or synergistic anticancer agents remains. Cancer prevention or chemotherapy based on bioactive fractions or pure components derived from desert plants with known cancer-inhibiting properties suggests promising alternatives to current cancer therapy. Plants growing on low nutrient soils and/or under harsh climatic conditions, such as extreme temperatures, intense solar radiation, and water scarcity, are particularly susceptible to attack from reactive oxygen species and have evolved efficient antioxidation defense systems. The many examples of desert plants displaying anticancer effects as presented here indicates that the same defensive secondary metabolites protecting them against the harsh environment may also play a protective or a curative role against cancer, as they also do against diabetes, neurodegenerative, and other acute and chronic diseases. The present review highlights a plethora of studies focused on the antineoplastic properties of desert plants and their prinicipal phytochemicals, such as saponins, flavonoids, tannins, and terpenes. Although many desert plants have been investigated for their antitumor properties, there are many that still remain to be explored - a challenge for the prospective cancer therapy of the future.

Triterpenoids from Argania spinosa: 20 Years of Research

During the last two decades, the argan tree has been the subject of intensive phytochemical investigation. If argan oil is the most known argan derivative, argan saponins are frequently considered as molecules presenting a strong economic potential. This review presents an update of the current research efforts on argan saponins from around the world. Research evidence suggests that arganine C can be considered as a lead compound for new antivirals.

Therapeutic potential of argan oil: a review

Objectives

The therapeutic benefits of argan oil consumption have been claimed by natives of Morocco and explorers for more than eight centuries. However, argan oil has remained unresearched for a long time. Traditionally, argan oil has been well known for its cardioprotective properties and it is also used in the treatment of skin infections. Argan oil is principally composed of mono-unsaturated (up to 80%) and saturated (up to 20%) fatty acids. As minor components, it contains polyphenols, tocopherols, sterols, squalene, and triterpene alcohols. Together with the mono-unsaturated fatty acids, these minor components are likely to be responsible for its beneficial effects. This review aims to present an overview of the known pharmacological properties of argan oil.

Key findings

Antiproliferative, antidiabetic, and cardiovascular-protective effects of argan oil have been particularly actively evaluated over the last 5 years in order to build on phytochemical studies that indicate the presence of large amounts of possibly pharmacologically active compounds.

Summary

This review shows that a lack of clinical data constitutes a serious weakness in our knowledge about argan oil, therefore it is difficult to correlate the reported pharmacological activities to any potential clinical relevance.

Should the amazigh diet (regular and moderate argan-oil consumption) have a beneficial impact on human health?

Virgin argan oil, cosmetic or dietary grade, is prepared by cold-pressing the kernels of argan fruits. Both types of oil, traditionally used by the amazighs (the argan grove traditional dwellers), are now available on the shelves of the most-developed country stores. Argan oil contains a high level of oleic and linoleic acid and is also particularly rich in phenols. Since these metabolites are currently considered as essential to explain some of the protective effects against cancer and coronary heart disease attributed to other oils, similar effects can be expected from argan oil consumption as suggested by the amazigh medicine claims. Interestingly, argan oil content in gamma -tocopherol is much higher than that of any other oils. gamma -Tocopherol has recently been shown to possess strong chemopreventive and anti-inflammatory properties. This indicates that argan oil should readily find a place of choice amid the most profitable oils for human health. Because of its reduced geographical origin, the chemical composition (major as well as minor components) of argan oil is also highly reproducible. Therefore argan oil consumption should confer health benefits in a reliable and efficient manner.

Chemical study, antimalarial and antioxidant activities, and cytotoxicity to human breast cancer cells (MCF7) of Argania spinosa

INTRODUCTION

In our work, we evaluate the potential antioxidant, antimalarial activity and also activity against human breast cancer cells (MCF7) of Argan fruit extracts using in vitro models to validate the traditional use of this plant. Its chemical composition was also studied to begin the understanding of its activities, waiting to find the structure-activity relationship.

RESULTS

Polyphenols (89.4-218.5 eqGallic acid (mg/g dry)), tannins (39.3-214.0 eqCatechin (mg/g dry)), flavonoids (3.4-11.1 eqQuercetin (mg/g dry)) and anthocyanins (0.74-10.92 eqCyanindin (mug/g dry)) were quantified. A good (ethyl acetate and decoction) and moderate (petroleum ether) antioxidant activity were obtained for DPPH (IC(50) 32.3-600.8 microg/ml) and ABTS (IC(50) 11.9-988.8 microg/ml) assays. In addition, we found a good antimalarial activity (IC(50) 35 to >100 microg/ml) and human breast cancer cells activity (IC(50) 42 to >100 microg/ml).

CONCLUSIONS

The ethyl acetate extract and the decoction show interesting antimalarial and antioxidant activities. The results indicate a good correlations between anthocyanins quantitiy and the potential antioxidant (R(2)=0.9867) and also to antimalarial activity (R(2)=0.8175).

Fish oil and argan oil intake differently modulate insulin resistance and glucose intolerance in a rat model of dietary-induced obesity

We investigated the potential metabolic benefits of fish oil (FO) or vegetable argan oil (AO) intake in a dietary model of obesity-linked insulin resistance. Rats were fed a standard chow diet (controls), a high-fat/high-sucrose (HFHS) diet, or an HFHS diet in which 6% of the fat was replaced by either FO or AO feeding, respectively. The HFHS diet increased adipose tissue weight and insulin resistance as revealed by increased fasting glucose and exaggerated glycemic and insulin responses to a glucose tolerance test (intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test). Fish oil feeding prevented fat accretion, reduced fasting glycemia, and normalized glycemic or insulin responses to intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test as compared with HFHS diet. Unlike FO consumption, AO intake failed to prevent obesity, yet restored fasting glycemia back to chow-fed control values. Insulin-induced phosphorylation of Akt and Erk in adipose tissues, skeletal muscles, and liver was greatly attenuated in HFHS rats as compared with chow-fed controls. High-fat/high-sucrose diet-induced insulin resistance was also confirmed in isolated hepatocytes. Fish oil intake prevented insulin resistance by improving or fully restoring insulin signaling responses in all tissues and isolated hepatocytes. Argan oil intake also improved insulin-dependent phosphorylations of Akt and Erk; and in adipose tissue, these responses were increased even beyond values observed in chow-fed controls. Taken together, these results strongly support the beneficial action of FO on diet-induced insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, an effect likely explained by the ability of FO to prevent HFHS-induced adiposity. Our data also show for the first time that AO can improve some of the metabolic and insulin signaling abnormalities associated with HFHS feeding.

Protective effect of saponins from Argania spinosa against free radical-induced oxidative haemolysis

Saponins from Argania spinosa at a non-haemolytic concentration diminish by 53.2% erythrocyte haemolysis induced by free radicals. 2 mM aspirin and acetaminophen diminish by 75% and 68% , respectively, erythrocyte haemolysis induced by free radicals, while 0.3 microM vitamin E shows no significant antioxidant activity. Interestingly, a combination of 1 mg/l of A. spinosa saponins and vitamin E at 0.3 microM resulted in a 68% level of protection against free radical-induced erythrocyte haemolysis, which may suggest that A. spinosa saponins enhance the antioxidant effect of vitamin E. In contrast, no synergic effect was observed for acetaminophen (2 mM) when in combination with vitamin E (0.3 microM). These results demonstrate the antioxidant properties of saponins from A. spinosa and their ability to potentate the antioxidant effect of vitamin E.

Argan Oil, Functional Food, and the Sustainable Development of the Argan Forest

For years, in southwestern Morocco, the decline of the argan forest has been accompanied by the concomitant desert encroachment. Preservation of this forest by increasing the economic value of argan tree was proposed twenty years ago, but successful large scale production of certified, high quality argan oil, an edible oil introduced as a functional food, has only been recently achieved. Argan oil is now marketed in most developed countries, despite its elevated price, and protection of the argan forest is now seriously being considered. The aim of this work is to present the recent progress made in argan oil production, the ways explored to commercialize the oil extraction by-products, and recent attempts to use other argan tree parts as part of a long term aim to preserve the argan forest.

Antiproliferative effect of polyphenols and sterols of virgin argan oil on human prostate cancer cell lines

BACKGROUND

The aim of our study has to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of polyphenols and sterols extracted from the virgin argan oil on three human prostatic cell lines (DU145, LNCaP, and PC3).

METHODS

Cytotoxicity, anti-proliferative effects and nuclear morphological changes of cells were analyzed after treatment with sterols and polyphenols. The results were compared to 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME(2)) as positive control.

RESULTS

Polyphenols and sterols of virgin argan oil and 2ME(2) exhibited a dose-response cytotoxic effect and antiproliferative action on the three tested cell lines. The antiproliferative effect of polyphenols was similar for the DU145 and LNCaP cell lines; the GI(50) (defined as the concentration inhibiting growth by 50% in comparison with the control) was respectively 73 and 70microg/ml. The antiproliferative effect of sterols was 46 and 60microg/ml as GI(50) for the DU145 and LNCaP cell lines. For the PC3 cell line, the best antiproliferative effect was obtained by argan sterols with GI(50)=43microg/ml. On the other hand, the nuclear morphology analyses have shown an increased proportion of pro-apoptotic of nuclei in LNCaP cell treated with IC(50) of polyphenols or sterols compared to control cells. Our results show for the first time the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of polyphenols and sterols extracted from virgin argan oil and confirm the antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of 2ME(2) on prostate cancer cell lines.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that argan oil may be interesting in the development of new strategies for prostate cancer prevention.