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Salinity is a severe abiotic problem that has harmful impacts on agriculture. Recently, biostimulants were defined as bioprotectant materials that promote plant growth and improve productivity under various stress conditions. In this study, we investigated the effect of Crataegus oxyacantha extract as a biostimulant on tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) grown under salt stress. Concentrations of 20 mg/L, 30 mg/L, and 70 mg/L of C. oxyacantha extract were applied to tomato plants that were grown under salt stress. The results indicated that plants that were treated with C. oxyacantha extract had a higher ability to tolerate salt stress, as demonstrated by a significant (p < 0.05) increase in plant growth and photosynthetic pigment contents, in addition to a significant increase in tomato soluble sugars and amino acids compared to the control plants. In the stressed tomato plants, malondialdehyde increased and then decreased significantly with the different concentrations of C. oxyacantha extract. Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in the antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and glutathione reductase (GR) in the stressed plants, especially after treatment with 70 mg/L of the extract. Overall, our results suggest that C. oxyacantha extract could be a promising biostimulant for treating tomato plants under salinity stress.

Many research studies have shown the importance of seaweed extract in agriculture. Marine macroalgae are rich in diverse compounds like lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, phytohormones, amino acids, osmoprotectants and minerals. In this study, we have tried to characterize Moroccan macroalgae species Ulva rigida collected from the coastal area of Akhfenir in order to evaluate their potential to improve growth plant. The proximate composition, mineral element (Ca, K, Mg, Na and Cl), pigments, amino acid, proteins, lipids, polyphenol contents were determined in liquid extract obtained from green seaweed (SWE) Ulva rigida. Results show that the application of SWE at different concentrations (0,12.5, 25, 50%) significantly enhanced growth parameters, especially with 25% of seaweed liquid extract. Therefore, algal treatment by foliar application is proved to be an effective technique to improve the growth of wheat plants. This study provides important information on the characterization, identification and utilization of seaweed resources for agriculture as biostimulants.

Gliomas represent a heterogeneous group of uniformly fatal brain tumors. Low and high-grade gliomas have diverse molecular signatures. Despite successful advances in understanding glioma, several genetic, epigenetic, and post-transcriptional alterations leave various targeted therapies ineffective, leading to a poor prognosis for high-grade glioma. Recent advances have revealed the implication of dysregulated alternative splicing (AS) events in glioma development. AS is a process that produces, from a single genomic sequence, several mature messenger RNAs. Splicing of pre-messenger RNAs concerns at least 95% of transcripts and constitutes an important mechanism in gene expression regulation. Dysregulation of this process, through variations in spliceosome components, aberrant splicing factors and RNA-binding protein activity, disproportionate regulation of non-coding RNAs, and abnormal mRNA methylation, can contribute to the disruption of AS. Such disruptions are usually associated with the development of several cancers, including glioma. Consequently, AS constitutes a key regulatory mechanism that could serve as a target for future therapies. In this review, we explore how AS events, spliceosome components, and their regulatory mechanisms play a critical role in glioma development, highlighting their potential as targets for innovative therapeutic strategies against this challenging cancer.

Animal venom, known for its complex biochemical composition, presents a valuable source of therapeutic molecules, particularly for antiviral applications. Despite this potential, the industrial use of venom remains limited, with fewer than a dozen venom-derived compounds reaching commercial markets. This study underscores the significance of exploring venom’s natural diversity as a reservoir for novel bioactive compounds that could drive innovative drug development. We investigated the venom of the Moroccan black scorpion Androctonus mauritanicus (Am) , applying solid-phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) to fractionate the venom into 80 distinct samples. These fractions were subjected to detailed analysis using advanced mass spectrometry techniques, including ESI-MS, Q-TOF LC/MS, and Q-Exactive LC/MS. In total, 507 unique molecular masses were identified, with several fractions enriched in neurotoxins targeting ion channels (NaScTxs, KScTxs, CaScTxs, and ClScTxs), highlighting their therapeutic relevance. Fractions containing inhibitory molecules targeting the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike S protein were identified through in vitro validation via competitive ELISA, showing multiple levels of inhibitory potential. These findings demonstrate the antiviral activity of venom-derived molecules and reveal promising opportunities for venom-based industrial applications targeting SARS-CoV-2. In conclusion, this study not only emphasises the antiviral properties of specific venom molecules but also opens pathways for industrial drug development, offering potential tools to combat emerging viral diseases.

Natural compounds are endowed with a broad spectrum of biological activities, including protection against Toxins. Most of them are known for their antioxidant and radical scavenging activities. However, the synergistic combination of these natural molecules is not well studied. Therefore, the present study aims first to investigate the effect of four potent natural molecules [rosmarinic acid (Ros-A), ellagic acid (Ella-A), curcumin (Cur), and syringic acid (Syr-A)] on H 2 O 2 -induced cell cytotoxicity and oxidative stress on the human monocytes (THP-1) and then to evaluate their combined action effect. Optimal combinations of these molecules were predicted using an augmented mixture design approach. In the first, as preliminary antioxidant activities screening, two in vitro assays were adopted to assess the single radicals scavenging activity of these natural compounds, DPPH• and ABTS• + tests. Based on the results obtained, the multitude of optimal formulas proposed by the mixture design study led to choosing four potent compositions (comp) in addition to ellagic acid, proposed as the most efficient when applied alone. The different molecules and mixtures were used to assess their cytoprotective effect on THP-1 cells in the presence and absence of H 2 O 2 . The most potent Comp-4, as well as the molecules forming this mixture, were exploited in a second experiment, aiming to understand the effect on oxidative stress via antioxidant enzyme activities analysis in the H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress in the THP-1 cell line. Interestingly, the natural molecules used for THP-1 cells treatment exhibited a significant increase in the antioxidant defense and glyoxalase system as well as suppression of ROS generation evaluated as MDA content. These results indicate that the natural compounds tested here, especially the synergistic effect of Cur and Ros-A (Comp-4), could serve as cytoprotective and immunostimulant agents against H 2 O 2 -induced cytotoxicity THP-1 cells, which makes them interesting for further investigations on the molecular mechanisms in preclinical animal models.

The present study was conducted to evaluate a natural extract, obtained from the Beta vulgaris plant, for its phytochemical composition and its beneficial health effects. Therefore, total phenolic and flavonoid contents, as well as identification and quantification of phenolic compounds by HPLC, were assessed in leaves’ extract. Moreover, antioxidant activities were investigated using free radical scavenging tests, (ABTS+ and DPPH+) and reducing power assay (FRAP) as well as ferrous ions’ (Fe2+) chelating activity. The Antiglycation effect was also evaluated, using the BSA-fructose model, and the antidiabetic effect was determined by inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. Additionally, the in vitro antitumor effect was quantified using the MTT assay, and the antibacterial activity was evaluated using the agar disc diffusion and broth microdilution methods. Both aqueous and methanolic extracts exhibited potential antioxidant capacity with a higher effect for the methanolic extract. Furthermore, the in vitro antitumor activity of the methanolic extracts exhibited potent cytotoxic effects against two breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-468 and MCF-7. Moreover, Beta vulgaris extracts inhibit not only α-amylase and α-glucosidase, but also advanced glycation end-products’ (AGEs) formation, which would prevent diabetes’ complications. Beta vulgaris methanolic extract revealed also a high antibacterial effect against Proteus mirabilis and Bacillus subtilis. Taken together, these results revealed that Beta vulgaris leaves’ extracts constitute a valuable food and natural source of bioactive molecules that could be used for the development of new, natural drugs against cancer and diabetes.