Psychoactive Plant Database - Neuroactive Phytochemical Collection

1. Food Sci Nutr. 2024 Aug 29;12(10):8255-8279. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.4431.
eCollection  2024 Oct.

Comparative analysis of the nutritional, physicochemical, and bioactive 
characteristics of Artemisia abyssinica and Artemisia arborescens for the 
evaluation of their potential as ingredients in functional foods.

Al-Maqtari QA(1)(2)(3), Othman N(1), Mohammed JK(2), Mahdi AA(2), Al-Ansi W(2), 
Noman AE(2), Al-Gheethi AAS(4), Asharuddin SM(1).

Author information:
(1)Micro-Pollutant Research Centre (MPRC), Faculty of Civil Engineering and 
Built Environment Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) Batu Pahat Johor 
Malaysia.
(2)Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Food, and 
Environment Sana'a University Sana'a Yemen.
(3)Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science Sana'a University Sana'a 
Yemen.
(4)Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER) University of Newcastle 
and CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC 
CARE) Newcastle New South Wales Australia.

Artemisia abyssinica and Artemisia arborescens are unique plants that show 
significant bioactive properties and are used for the treatment of a variety of 
diseases. This study assessed the nutritional values, functional properties, 
chemical composition, and bioactive attributes of these plants as functional 
nutritional supplements. Compared to A. arborescens, A. abyssinica had higher 
fat (4.76%), fiber (16.07%), total carbohydrates (55.87%), and energy 
(302.15 kcal/100 g DW), along with superior functional properties, including 
higher water and oil absorption capacities (638.81% and 425.85%, respectively) 
and foaming capacity and stability (25.67% and 58.48%). The investigation of 
volatile compounds found that A. abyssinica had higher amounts of hotrienol 
(4.53%), yomogi alcohol (3.92%), caryophyllene (3.67%), and carvotanacetone 
(3.64%), which possess anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant 
properties. Artemisia abyssinica contributed over 30% of the recommended dietary 
intake (RDI) of amino acids. It displayed superior levels of sodium 
(31.46 mg/100 g DW) and calcium (238.07 mg/100 g DW). It also exhibited higher 
levels of organic acids, particularly malic acid, butyric acid, and succinic 
acid, compared to A. arborescens. Fatty acid analysis revealed palmitic and 
linoleic acids as primary components in both plants, with A. abyssinica having a 
higher palmitic acid content. Artemisia abyssinica also had higher vitamin C and 
thiamine levels. Although A. arborescens showed the highest total phenolic 
content (TPC), antioxidant activity, and capacity, A. abyssinica demonstrated 
acceptable efficiency in TPC and antioxidant content. These findings highlight 
the potential of both Artemisia species, particularly A. abyssinica, as valuable 
sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds for various applications.

© 2024 The Author(s). Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals 
LLC.

DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.4431
PMCID: PMC11521740
PMID: 39479604

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict 
of interest.


2. Chem Biodivers. 2024 Oct 20:e202401267. doi: 10.1002/cbdv.202401267. Online 
ahead of print.

Identification of Essential Oils Morrocan Pulicaria Mauritanica Phytochemical 
Compounds, In-Silico and In Vitro Investigation of Antibacterial and Antioxidant 
Activity.

Sabiri M(1), Chtibi H(1), Aanouz I(2), Barbouchi M(3), Benali T(4), Alaqarbeh 
M(5), Hammani K(6), Bouachrine M(7), Amechrouq A(8).

Author information:
(1)Université Moulay Ismail, Chemistry, Zitoune, Meknes, MOROCCO.
(2)Université Moulay Ismail, Chemistry, Zitoune, Meknes, Meknes, MOROCCO.
(3)Université Moulay Ismail, Chemistry, Zitoune, Meknas, MOROCCO.
(4)Universite Cadi Ayyad, Chemistry, Marrakech, Marrakech, MOROCCO.
(5)National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, water and soil 
research, Al-Baqa, 19381, Jordan, 19381, Al-Baqa, JORDAN.
(6)Universite Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Biology, Fas, Fas, MOROCCO.
(7)Université Moulay Ismail, Chemistry, Ziyoune, Meknas, MOROCCO.
(8)Moulay Ismail University, Biology, Meknas, Meknas, MOROCCO.

A study was conducted to analyze the essential oil 
of Pulicaria mauritanica (PMEO) and investigate its antibacterial and 
antioxidant properties using in vitro and in-silico methods. The essential oil 
was extracted using the hydrodistillation technique, and its chemical 
composition was identified via GC/MS analysis. The chemical composition of oil 
shows that the major components of PMEO are carvotanacetone (67.92%) followed by 
2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (3.62%), eucalyptol (1.76%) and tetrahydrocarvone 
(1.32%). The antibacterial and antioxidant effects against DPPH free radicals 
and ferric reducing power were tested using the in vitro microdilution method. 
The antibacterial activity showed a strong sensitivity against Bacillus 
subtilis and Proteus mirabilis with an inhibition zone of (22.33 ± 1.78 mm and 
19.3 ± 0.68 mm, respectively; the lowest MIC and MBC values were (MIC=MBC=1.56 
mg/mL). However, computational studies were carried out using molecular docking 
studies. The study of the interaction nature between (PMEO) essential oil and 
tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase from Staphylococcus aureus aids in understanding the 
antibacterial properties of essential oil molecules and their mechanism of 
action. The in-silico toxicity and pharmacokinetics results show that 
4-candidate molecules have potential antibacterial drugs and suggests that PMEO 
could be a source of natural antioxidants and antibacterial agents.

© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.

DOI: 10.1002/cbdv.202401267
PMID: 39428348


3. Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 3;14(1):20516. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-71323-4.

Valorisation of tomato pomace in anti-pollution and microbiome-balance face 
cream.

Rajkowska K(1), Otlewska A(2), Raczyk A(3), Maciejczyk E(4), Krajewska A(5).

Author information:
(1)Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Institute of Fermentation 
Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 
90-530, Łódź, Poland. katarzyna.rajkowska@p.lodz.pl.
(2)Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Institute of Fermentation 
Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 
90-530, Łódź, Poland. anna.otlewska@p.lodz.pl.
(3)Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Institute of Fermentation 
Technology and Microbiology, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 
90-530, Łódź, Poland.
(4)Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Institute of Natural Products and 
Cosmetics, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-530, Łódź, 
Poland. ewa.maciejczyk@p.lodz.pl.
(5)Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Institute of Natural Products and 
Cosmetics, Lodz University of Technology, Wólczańska 171/173, 90-530, Łódź, 
Poland.

Tomato pomace, the main by-product of tomato processing, is also an 
underestimated source of many active substances. This study aimed to determine 
the possibility of using oil obtained from tomato pomace in a face cream 
formulation. The bacterial community structure, face skin biophysical parameters 
and protection against air pollution were examined after daily application of 
the cosmetic by volunteers. In the tomato pomace oil, the profile of fatty acids 
was determined by GC‒MS, and the profile of volatile compounds was determined 
using the HS-SPME technique. The dominant bioactive component in the oil was 
linoleic acid (63.6%), and among the volatile compounds, it was carvotanacetone 
(25.8%). The application of the cream with tomato pomace oil resulted in an 
increase in the dominant genera Staphylococcus, Anaerococcus and Cutibacterium 
in the epibiome, particularly beneficial Staphylococcus epidermidis, while 
limiting the growth of the potentially opportunistic pathogens Kocuria spp., 
Micrococcus spp., Veillonella spp., and Rothia spp. This study showed the 
usefulness of tomato pomace oil as a natural ingredient in skin care cosmetics, 
reducing skin inflammation, sensitivity and melanin level, with potential 
protective effects against air pollution and microbiome-balance properties. 
Tomato pomace, which is commonly considered waste after tomato processing, can 
be used in the development of new cosmetics and may additionally contribute to 
reducing environmental nuisance.

© 2024. The Author(s).

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-71323-4
PMCID: PMC11371812
PMID: 39227423 [Indexed for MEDLINE]

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests.


4. Saudi Pharm J. 2023 Dec;31(12):101879. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101879. Epub 
2023 Nov 23.

Chemical profile, antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic activities of essential 
oils of Pulicaria arabica against A549 lung cancer cell line.

Nasr FA(1), Noman OM(2), Al-Zharani M(1), Ahmed MZ(2), Qamar W(3), Rizwan Ahamad 
S(4), Al Mishari AA(2), Aleissa MS(1), Rudayni HA(1), Alqahtani AS(2).

Author information:
(1)Biology Department, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic 
University (IMSIU), Riyadh 11623, Saudi Arabia.
(2)Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, 
Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
(3)Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, King Saud 
University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
(4)Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud 
University, P.O. Box 2457, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.

Pulicaria arabica has been traditionally utilized in folk medicine for various 
purposes such as ulcer treatments as well as antidiarrheal agent. Herein, the 
chemical profiles of Pulicaria arabica essential oils (PAEOs) and the in vitro 
antiproliferative effect of PAEOs were investigated. Hydrodistillation was 
employed to prepare PAEOs which were then characterized by GC/MS, while the 
antiproliferative effects were investigated by MTT assay as well as flow 
cytometric and RT-PCR analysis. Sixty-four (99.99 %) constituents were 
recognized from PAEOs. Carvotanacetone (36.97 %), (-)-carvomenthone (27.20 %) 
and benzene, 2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-1,4-dimethoxy- (6.92 %) were the main 
components. PAEOs displayed IC50 values ranging from 30 to 50 μg/mL. DNA content 
analysis revealed that A549 cells exposed to PAEOs exhibited an increase in G1 
cells population. The flow cytometry analysis results also showed that the PAEOs 
antiproliferative effect was mediated via apoptosis induction. Furthermore, a 
modulation in the pro-apoptotic markers (caspase-3 and Bax) and anti-apoptotic 
(Bcl-2) was also observed. In conclusion, PAEOs exhibited a moderate 
anti-proliferative effect on A549 cells through modulating the cell cycle 
progression and apoptosis initiation. These findings could offer a potential 
therapeutic use of PAEOs in lung cancer treatment.

© 2023 The Author(s).

DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.101879
PMCID: PMC10772242
PMID: 38192283

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known 
competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
to influence the work reported in this paper.


5. Nat Prod Res. 2023 May;37(9):1589-1593. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2021.2025368.
Epub  2022 Jan 10.

Identification of potentially bioactive compounds from Blumea lacera essential 
oil by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and molecular docking studies for 
targeting inflammatory bowel disease.

Joshi RK(1), Pai SR(2)(3), Nagarajan H(4), Vetrivel U(5).

Author information:
(1)Department of Natural Product Chemistry, ICMR-National Institute of 
Traditional Medicine, Belagavi, Karnataka, India.
(2)Plant Biotechnology and Tissue Culture Division, ICMR-National Institute of 
Traditional Medicine, Belagavi, Karnataka, India.
(3)Department of Botany, Rayat Shikshan Sanstha's, Dada Patil Mahavidyalaya, 
Karjat, Maharashtra, India.
(4)Centre for Bioinformatics, Kamalnayan Bajaj Institute for Research in Vision 
and Ophthalmology, Vision Research Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
(5)Department of Bioinformatics, ICMR-National Institute of Traditional 
Medicine, Belagavi, Karnataka, India.

Blumea lacera (Burm.f.) DC. (Asteraceae) is used in the traditional system of 
medicine for the treatment of inflammation or irritable bowel disease (IBD). In 
this study, B. lacera was collected from different geographical regions and oil 
was extracted by hydro-distillation and further chemo-profiled using GC-FID-MS. 
The major compounds identified were 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (28.7-0.4%), 
β-caryophyllene (25.5-0.5%), carvotanacetone (24.5-0.4%), chrysanthenone 
(21.9-9.8%) and 2,6-dimethyl phenol (11.4-1.8%). The constituents of B. lacera 
also showed marked qualitative and quantitative variations. The percent chemical 
similarity was observed to be in the range of 51.7% to 59.2% between the 
localities. Moreover, molecular modelling, membrane molecular dynamics 
simulations, target prediction were implemented to decipher the potential 
targets relevant to IBD. This inferred that all these major compounds could be 
potential drug moieties for treating IBD in terms of targeting h5HTR3A, thereby 
substantiating the traditional use of B. lacera for the treatment of IBD 
ailments.

DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2021.2025368
PMID: 35007180 [Indexed for MEDLINE]