Chemical composition, antitumor and antioxidant effects of four lebanese plants extracts on human pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Lung cancer leading cause of humans' cancer-related death remains incurable with current drug therapies having many side-effects. Finding new natural cancer remedies would help design better therapies. This study aims to investigate the anticancer and antioxidant effects of the Levant endemic plants Prango sasperula, Stachys ehrenbergii, Hirtellina lobelia, and Salvia multicaulis on human pulmonary adenocarcinoma. GC/MS and NMR analyzed the bioactive compounds of methanolic extracts of these plants. Their antioxidant effect was measured by ABTS assay. The effect of these extracts on the viability of A549 (Human lung adenocarcinoma cell line) and NHBE (Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells) was examined using MTT and Anchorage-Independent Colony Formation assays. Our findings show an interesting, specific cytotoxic effect of these plant extracts on A549 cells. Additionally, S. ehrenbergii and H. lobelii present a specific high alkylation potential. Data reveal an interesting antitumor potential attributed to their antiproliferative and alkylation actions towards human pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Genetic and Phenotypic Characterisation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae Population of 'Merwah' White Wine.

The study of yeast biodiversity represents an important step in the preservation of the local heritage, and this work in particular has an innovative character since no further studies have investigated 'Merwah', one of the main grape varieties used in winemaking in Lebanon. To gain deeper knowledge of the genetic diversity and population structure of native Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strains, 202 isolates were collected during spontaneous alcoholic fermentation of eight must/wine samples of cultivar 'Merwah', over two consecutive years (2016, 2017) in a traditional winery in Mount Lebanon (1400 m a.s.l.). The isolates were identified as S. cerevisiae on the basis of their morphology and preliminary sequence analysis of their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) PCR. They were then characterised at the strain level by interdelta PCR and genotyped using multiplex PCR reactions of 12 microsatellite markers. High genetic diversity was observed for the studied population. To select potential yeast starter strains from this population, micro-fermentations were carried out for 22 S. cerevisiae strains that were selected as representative of the 'Merwah' wine yeast population in order to determine their technological and oenological properties. Three indigenous yeast strains might represent candidates for pilot-scale fermentation in the winery, based on relevant features such as high fermentation vigour, low production of volatile acidity and H2S and low residual sugar content at the end of alcoholic fermentation.