Exploring the Biological and Phytochemical Potential of Jordan's Flora: A Review and Update of Eight Selected Genera from Mediterranean Region.

Jordan's flora is known for its rich diversity, with a grand sum of 2978 plant species that span 142 families and 868 genera across four different zones. Eight genera belonging to four different plant families have been recognized for their potential natural medicinal properties within the Mediterranean region. These genera include Chrysanthemum L., Onopordum Vaill. Ex. L., Phagnalon Cass., and Senecio L. from the Asteraceae family, in addition to Clematis L. and Ranunculus L. from the Ranunculaceae family, Anchusa L. from the Boraginaceae family, and Eryngium L. from the Apiaceae family. The selected genera show a wide variety of secondary metabolites with encouraging pharmacological characteristics including antioxidant, antibacterial, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anti-ulcer, and neuroprotective actions. Further research on these genera and their extracts will potentially result in the formulation of novel and potent natural pharmaceuticals. Overall, Jordan's rich flora provides a valuable resource for exploring and discovering new plant-based medicines.

In Vitro Cytotoxic Potential of Selected Jordanian Flora and Their Associated Phytochemical Analysis.

Traditional medicines are a significant source of phytochemicals with potential anticancer effects. Ten Jordanian plants were chosen to be tested for cytotoxicity on human colorectal (HT-29) and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines. The ethanol extracts were screened for their potential cytotoxic effects using a Sulforhodamine B (SRB) colorimetric assay, using doxorubicin as positive control. Plants extracts exhibiting marked cytotoxic activity were further investigated by qualitative and quantitative phytochemical methods. Total phenolics were quantified using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent, while flavonoids were quantified using aluminum chloride. The total saponins of the n-butanol fraction were estimated using diosgenin as a standard. The total alkaloids and total terpenoids were also evaluated using the gravimetric method. As results, Senecio leucanthemifolius (IC50: 13.84 µg/mL) and Clematis cirrhosa (IC50: 13.28 µg/mL) exhibited marked cytotoxic effects on human colorectal adenocarcinoma (HT-29) cell lines. Total phenolics, flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, and terpenoids found in Senecio leucanthemifolius were (91.82, 14.90, 14.27, 101, and 135.4 mg/g of dry extract), respectively. They were revealed to be (68.18, 7.16, 31.25, 73.6, and 180 mg/g of dry extract) in Clematis cirrhosa, respectively. Senecio leucanthemifolius and Clematis cirrhosa have been found to possess cytotoxicity against colorectal (HT-29). In conclusion, the findings of this study offer a new perspective on Jordanian plant extracts anticancer activity research.

Solvent Bar Microextraction Combined with HPLC-DAD for Simultaneous Determination of Diuretics in Human Urine and Plasma Samples.

BACKGROUND: A simple and powerful microextraction procedure, the solvent bar microextraction (SBME), was used for the simultaneous determination of two diuretics, furosemide and spironolactone in human urine and plasma samples, using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). METHODS: The appropriate amount (2 µL) of 1-octanol as an organic solvent confined within 2.5 cm of a porous hollow fiber micro-tube, sealed at both ends was used for this procedure. The conditions for the SBME were optimized in water and the analytical performance was examined in spiked human urine and plasma samples. RESULTS: The optimized method exhibited good linearity (R2> 0.997) over the studied range of higher than 33 to 104µg L-1 for furosemide and spironolactone in urine and plasma samples, illustrating a satisfactory precision level with RSD values between 2.1% and 9.1%. DISCUSSION: The values of the limits of detection were found to be in the range of 6.39 to 9.67µg L-1, and extraction recovery ˃ 58.8% for both diuretics in urine and plasma samples. The applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method for the determination of furosemide and spironolactone in patient urine samples were tested. CONCLUSION: In comparison with reference methods, the attained results demonstrated that SBME combined with HPLC-DAD was proved to be simple, inexpensive, and promising analytical technology for the simultaneous determination of furosemide and spironolactone in urine and plasma samples.